And the Future Fire Lady Is!
by elations
Summary: Four years after the war, Zuko still hasn't found his Fire Lady and with the pressure from his mom, it's gotta happen! A masquerade will be held, and all the eligible bachelorettes are invited. And of course Zuko could always use the help of his friends! Zutara, Taang, Sukka.
1. Night at the Turtle Duck Pond

**Okay, this is my first fic so be gentle, okay? Really proud of myself for belting this out, but any comments/critique would be appreciated. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Avatar doesn't belong to meee :(**

"You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun," Zuko murmured wryly as he stepped out of the moon shadow he was standing in and approached the waterbender, breaking the silence of the night. He hadn't really been hiding, exactly, just quietly observing.

Katara was standing at the edge of the turtle duck pond, bending a thread of water that she quickly transformed into a thin point of ice and whipping around to face the intruder. She nearly pierced the Fire Lord for his abruptness, even after she knew the identity of the stranger behind her. Arching her brow suspiciously, the waterbender didn't reply. She drew more of the water, turning her back to Zuko, and began going through exercises Master Pakku had taught her what seemed so long ago now. Katara let herself think about the war, only a few years ended. She didn't like to think about it, the strife caused by the Fire Nation.

'_Not the Fire Nation, Ozai,'_ she corrected herself mentally. Firebenders just happened to be ambitious, bullying fools.

"It's not polite to ignore your host, Katara," Zuko chided lightly, interrupting her careful balance between working the forms and thought. "I thought your time among more civilized persons would change your uncouth ways, but I guess some things never change."

Of course, he was making a jab at her pride. Well, let him. Katara tried to keep her breathing steady, but she had already felt the water whip falter once Zuko had spoken the second time. She dropped the water, annoyed. Better to drop it voluntarily rather than giving Zuko the satisfaction of knowing he had put her off balance.

"Oh, there are civilized people in the Fire Nation?" Katara made a show of looking around, shading her eyes from the bright moon light and squinting. "Because I sure don't see any." She smirked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaning casually to support her weight on her right leg.

Zuko gulped silently, hoping the waterbender couldn't see the look on his face. Praying to Agni that the night was dark enough to hide what he was sure was a ridiculous look. The way the young woman stood was enough to remind Zuko that she was just that, a young woman. That scrawny fourteen-year-old girl he had first met had grown into the woman before him. How long had it been since that fateful day? Four years? He chuckled and shook his head. He had never in his wildest dreams thought that this would be his future, friends with the Avatar and his title restored. Promoted, even.

"What's so funny?" Katara asked, narrowing her blue eyes suspiciously. She was always so guarded, even now after four years of continued friendship as Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe. She was only present for the festival that celebrated the end of the war, as a war hero to be honored.

"I think you have some kind of water plant in your hair, have you been splashing around in the pond?" He lied smoothly, stepping forward quickly to inspect. He startled her, as was his intention. Was it so bad Zuko liked getting a rise out of her?

Katara staggered back a step, but refused to go further. She stood her ground as he picked up a lock of her hair for closer inspection. While he was preoccupied, or seemingly so, she watched him openly with still narrowed eyes. What was he playing at? Why did he always play mind games with her? Meanwhile, Zuko was watching the bender through his eyelashes. He smiled to himself, because he recognized that defiant look she was giving him. He'd seen it enough, but he thought it made her cute.

'_Cute? Since when did Katara become 'cute'?'_ He gave himself a mental shake, what was he doing? He wasn't with Mai any longer, they hadn't lasted long together after the war, but that didn't mean he could get away with thinking the Avatar's girl was cute. Or any sort of attractive, for that matter.

"Guess I was wrong." Zuko dropped the lock of her hair, but his hand lingered uncertainly. It must have shown in his eyes, because Katara's eyes softened with concern.

"Hey, are you okay? Your old wound isn't acting up again, is it?" Katara tried to guide him to a nearby stone bench, but he shook his head. It was not uncommon for him to have nerve complications after that Agni Kai with Azula. "Well, let me take a look at it, alright? It's about that time for me to examine it anyway." Zuko let her guide him to the bench grudgingly, aware of her cool touch on his shoulder through the robe. He shivered slightly in anticipation for the waterbender's hands to explore his chest, if only for medical reasons. An inappropriate thought, maybe. Okay, definitely, but in his own mind he could be as inappropriate as he saw fit. That thought only conjured more less than respectful thoughts of Katara.

They both straddled the stone slab of a bench, facing one another. Katara was gathering some water from her pouch while Zuko shrugged the robe off of his shoulders. He was used to this procedure by now, so he wasn't too surprised when she immediately began working on him, her hands made luminous by the healing and the light of the moon. Katara's face was serious, checking nerves and whatever else it was that healers did. The young Fire Lord let his mind wander, casually observing the face of the waterbending master seated in front of him.

"So how's the Fire Nation doing?" Katara's question caught Zuko by surprise; she had never talked during their sessions before. Maybe she was coming around after all.

"Fine, but I won't bore you with the details," he replied after a moment of silence. Surely she wouldn't be interested in the politics of court life or finances. "Mother has been putting more pressure on me to find a bride." Girls liked to talk about marriage and that kind of stuff, right? But there was also truth in what he said. Only two years had passed since his mother's return, and she was already down to the business of marrying him off. Not that he resented her for it, because she was right, but the only girl he had ever considered was Mai, however briefly.

"Oh," was all the reply she gave. Maybe she wasn't that interested in talking after all. But after a few moments she said, "I'm sure there are plenty of eligible bachelorettes in the world. You should host a ball, or something. Gather them all in one place and choose. Of course," her voice became thoughtful, "it would have to go on for many days, for you to meet every girl. Oh! A masquerade! That way, you'd choose for love and not because of who she is!" She brightened at her brilliant idea, flicking her eyes to his face to see what he thought.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Zuko admitted. Of course, the palace was large enough to house all of the ladies and their attendants, but the expenses would be notable. "And it wouldn't be any fun if my friends weren't present, of course," he added. Katara's face broke into an open grin, already planning what she might wear. He was glad she had wrapped up her examination by this time, because surely she would've felt when his heart skipped a few beats or the way his blood pounded when she smiled up at him.

"I'll send Aang's invitation to you since he travels so much. You'll probably see him before it's all arranged." Katara's grin faltered the slightest bit at this, and he cursed himself inwardly. He should've known she missed the Avatar while he was out trying to save the world, trying to restore the delicate balance.

"No problem." The waterbender's voice was steady enough, but she felt the pang of sadness as surely as she felt the moon above her. Her long distance relationship was a lot harder that she had originally anticipated. "You're perfectly healthy by the way, must've just been a random muscle spasm," she continued as he pulled up the robe against the night air. Katara stood, leaving Zuko no choice but to follow suit as he tightened the belt around his waist.

"I'll see you at the celebration tomorrow," he said reluctantly. It was obvious she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, and maybe to practice some more bending before turning in for the night. He could already feel the tiredness seeping back into his bones. It was hard enough for him to sleep most nights, between his duties and the nightmares, but there was a small hope of catching a few more hours than usual before the sun rose again. Katara nodded absently, looking out over the turtle duck pond. The firebender turned to go, thinking she had already forgotten his presence, when he heard a soft, "Good night," from behind him. The ghost of a smile played on his lips and he murmured in response before departing.

'_A good night indeed,'_ he thought almost cheerfully, recalling the memory of how the moonlight played on Katara's figure. He would never admit to it, but some might think that the Fire Lord was beginning to develop affections for the master waterbender.


	2. Someone's Touchy

**First off, let me thank everyone who read the first chapter and decided to stick around for the second!**

Katara tried to block out the rising sun, pulling the blanket over her head and muffling her face with her pillow. It was working, but she was running out of fresh air. With a miserable sigh, she flung the feather down pillow onto the ground beside the bed. It seemed to her that everything in the Fire Nation was so ornate, plush, and stuffy. Maybe formal was a nicer word.

Flinging off the thin blanket, the waterbender sat up scooted around to the edge of the bed. Letting her legs dangle over the sides, she tried to perk herself up with a reminder of the festival today. It was true that getting the old gang back together was the event she looked forward to all year, but she was still stuck in the clinging haze of sleep. Katara squinted at the window to her right, judging it to be midmorning. With a groan, she flopped back heavily onto the bed and closed her eyes.

'_I'm never up before noon,"_ she thought dejectedly, trying to reason out her conscious state. But it didn't take long to realize it had been a dream that had woken her._ Something about Aang..._her chest tightened at the thought of him, but not in the usual familiar sensation of affection. No, this was worry and uneasiness. Perhaps he was in danger, wherever he was.

'_The least he could do was send me a messenger hawk or something. But it's okay, he'll be here today.' _

She opened her eyes, now slightly annoyed with the monk. And also more determined to face the day and the preparations on her part. She would give him a piece of her mind when he arrived tonight, oh yes, she would. Katara always enjoyed giving people their comeuppance. She was interrupted by her planning when the door cracked open and a maid's head popped in tentatively.

"Oh, good, I thought I heard you stirring. I thought that it was strange for you to be up to early but..." The young woman snapped her mouth shut and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at prattling on. With her gaze averted, the maid bustled in with a breakfast tray and after setting down her burden she turned hurriedly to go.

"Hey, um, could you help me with something?" Katara asked hesitantly. The poor woman was obviously shamed, she must be new, but there was the problem of what to wear throughout the day and when. When the waterbender explained her problem, the maid brightened and scurried over to the large armoire that housed her collection of formal attire, flinging the doors open with gusto.

"You should obviously wear something blue, to symbolize the Southern Water Tribe, and definitely something silk, but not too heavy because I heard today was going to be warm, and..." Katara stifled a sigh. Maybe this wasn't the best solution, but the rambling woman was already set on creating various ensembles for possible clothing changes. When it was all said and done, it was decided that she would start out the day more casual and end with full formality. Of course, authentic Water Tribe garb wouldn't be made out of these soft silks, Katara thought absently as her fingers played at the front of the long, sleeveless tunic she had just changed into, but allowances had to be made for the warmer climate of the Fire Nation.

The garment defied everything that was Fire Nation with it's bold, pure blue coloration with a matching belt and white trim, to represent her proud origins. Underneath, she wore a simple light gray-blue shift that brushed her bare feet and sleeves extending to the middle of her elbows.

Katara scrutinized herself in the mirror while the now-twitching maid _insisted_ on both brushing _and_ braiding her hair, carrying on about how she had studied the up-do's of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, expressly for Katara's own comfort.

'_If you'd let me do it myself, I'd be a lot more comfortable,' _the waterbender growled inside her head, but her face was still the perfect study of politeness as the woman tugged a comb through her tangles. It had taken much practice over the years to school her face to show only what she wanted to reveal, but it was well worth the effort in her opinion. The woman was still blathering on, much to her annoyance, but there was something that caught her attention.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I should tell the Fire Lord you are ready for the festivities," the maid explained patiently, though obviously annoyed at being cut short. She had been talking to herself anyway. "I'm sure he can tell you if they others have arrived yet."

Katara's heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Aang again after what seemed like ages, and a different kind of excitement at seeing Sokka, Suki, and Toph.

"Yeah, okay, I'll just go find him," Katara replied vaguely, still trying to imagine their happy reunion. Toph would be gruff and outspoke, Sokka annoying as ever, Suki quirky, and Aang...cheerful as always.

She glanced at her hair in the mirror, a braid coming out from under her ear on each side, the hair not captured in a bun in the back of her head was loose and wavy, and deemed it acceptable. Before the maid could stop her, and before she had eaten a bite of that delicious looking breakfast, Katara was exclaiming her gratitude over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.

She let a sigh of relief escape before deciding to head left down the hallway. Sooner or later, she'd find her way to someone who could point her in the right direction. As long as she was away from that maid and her constant stream of words, everything would work out fine. Hours had to have passed between her waking moment and the present. Soon her stomach began to protest not eating, but Katara ignored it resolutely. The day would be full of feasting; it wouldn't hurt to skip breakfast.

Lucky for her, it was sooner, rather than later, that Katara came across a guard patrolling the grounds. He generously led her to one of the minor conference rooms where the Fire Lord had been meeting with some angry cabbage merchants.

Zuko wasn't decked head to toe in his full Fire Lord get up. Because of the minor importance of the meeting, he was wearing a more casual short-sleeved tunic and his royal topknot. He looked every inch the leader of the Nation, though, simply in the way he held himself while sitting at the head of a long table. Currently, he appeared to be having a staring contest with a document, and she wondered briefly if he could set it on fire just by glaring at it so intensely.

With the intrusion into his privacy, Zuko was about to give the guard a harsh reprimand when he looked up from his work. His eyes settled on Katara, though, as the guard stood aside to introduce the waterbender formally before bowing and taking his leave. He could see her flinch visibly and he hurried looked back down, highly embarrassed to have given such a glare at a friend. Even if it was on accident. Trying to control the heat in his cheeks, the Fire Lord cleared his throat to break the slightly awkward silence.

"If you're busy, I can find someone else to pester," Katara muttered abashedly, already turning to leave. She had dealt with a frustrated Zuko before, and it wasn't appealing to deal with him now.

"No, no...I need a distraction anyway, this stuff is getting to me," He said hurriedly, shoving the papers and folders away for emphasis. When she still looked hesitant, he tried to give her a reassuring smile. If her laugh was any indication, it probably looked more like he was in pain.

"So, are the others here yet?" She tried to keep her voice casual as she sauntered across the room to him, examining the fine materials that served as decorative wallhangings while running her fingers over the dark wood of the table on her left.

"Sokka and Suki are, and Toph sent a messenger hawk saying she was on her way, but I haven't heard from Aang. I'm sorry," he offered, getting the vibe that he might be a touchy subject after her reaction last night. Something was going down between them, but he didn't want to pry. Besides, it's not like the Fire Lord was well versed in relationships. His uncle could give good advice concerning anything, really. The silence drifted between them indefinitely when she didn't answer, making it more of an awkward silence for him.

"If you're having trouble with Aang, maybe Uncle can give you some advice..." Zuko offered, hesitant to even brush the topic. Hopefully he wouldn't have to get involved, he definitely didn't want to be forced into taking sides.

"We're not having trouble! There's nothing wrong! Everything's just FINE." Katara's relaxed demeanor quickly changed, her fury stemming from embarrassment. Was it that obvious that something was going sour between her and Aang? So bad, that even Zuko could see it all over her face? But she wan't about to let that firebender know that he had figured her out, though her reaction was indication enough. Her blue eyes flashed, now hard as ice and daring him to try to defend himself so she could rip him apart.

He put up his hand quickly, only physically signaling that he was in defense. And surrendering. Smart boy. But he had to open his mouth. Stupid boy.

"Look, Katara, I didn't mean to-" He tried to apologize as he stood, but it only provoked her further.

She was absolutely seething now, fists closed tight at her side. Who did he think he was, trying to put his nose is someone else's business? Nothing that had to do with him at all! Reaching for water to bend at him but finding none, she resorted to clenching and unclenching her fists. She would not hit him. She would not hit the Fire Lord. She had to be calm, he was only trying to help.

"Why don't you mind your own business, _Zuko_," Katara replied. She tried to keep her voice even, but she spat his name out of her mouth like poison. "It's not like you have any significant other to speak of-no fantastic love life to go off of." As soon as the words left her lips, they were regretted. "Oh...I-I'm sorry..." was all she could say, hand reached out tentatively to try to fix the hurt that had flashed in his eyes before he had turned away from her.

"I think you should leave. Sokka would be happy to see you again."

Katara felt the guilt wash over her as she murmured another, more heartfelt apology, before she crossed the room hurriedly and closed the door softly behind her. She prayed that Sokka would be entertainment to take her mind from the Fire Lord, but when she managed to find her brother and his fiancé, Zuko was still haunting her.


	3. Let the Festivities Begin

**A/N: Hey there! I'm terribly sorry it took _so_ long for this chapter, and as a reward it is much longer than the previous two! Now that I am home for the summer, I hope to work more on the story. Please R&R, enjoy! :)**

As soon as Katara left the room, Zuko whipped his head around to make sure she had gone before he started pacing. His pace was restless, his being inflamed with anger.

'_Ungrateful, infuriating woman!'_ He thought contemptuously. And to think, he had been admiring her only the night before! The memory, still vivid in his mind's eye, slowed his furious gait to a brisk walk, then slowly to a halt. His frown had lessened in anger and grown in contemplation. The moonlight, her hair, the healing hand probing his insides. He flushed, still coming down from his anger-induced adrenaline rush. Suddenly, healing seemed a lot more personal than he once thought.

With a swift shake of his head, Zuko threw the thought from his mind. He would have to demand that the checkup sessions be put to a halt. He didn't want that woman running her hands over his chest, poking around in his body-poisoning him from the inside out. Coming back to himself, the Fire Lord found that he had put his hand unconsciously over the scar. He couldn't see it through his tunic, but he could feel it. Maybe he could find a different healer, one he didn't have any personal connections to.

Now thoroughly confused by his conflicted emotions, Zuko recalled his Uncle's advice, and controlled his breathing. The exercise was similar to calling upon your inner fire, but he was simply just trying to calm himself down at the moment. The last thing he needed was fire to heat him up all over again. Closing his eyes to aid concentration, he took another deep breath, held it, and exhaled slowly. After several minutes, he felt much better. Unfortunately, there was much official work to be done before he could commit himself fully to the festivities of the day. Running a nation was a full time job, after all.

"Oh, I can't believe him!" Suki pouted after Katara related Aang's behavior as of late. "The least he could do is send a messenger hawk!"

"I know! That's exactly what I thought!" Katara replied, her forehead puckered with her frown.

The two young women had settled themselves under a tree in the palace gerden Katara had been bending in the previous night, the edge of the turtle duck pond wasn't far from their outstretched legs. Sokka had wandered off, not wanting to be apart of their girl talk. Not that he would've been encouraged to stay and have a heart-to-heart with his baby sister about her boyfriend frustrations. It was a good thing Suki was a straightforward woman, because the Water Tribe man just didn't get the subtleties of romancing a woman.

"I never pegged him to be so careless, but maybe he's just really busy. Is he coming to the Festival today?"

"I don't know..." The waterbender admitted, switching from angry to disappointed before anyone could bat an eyelash. She was beginning to hate the way the young airbender made her feel, a roller coaster of extreme emotions.

"Maybe you guys should take a break or something..." The Kyoshi Warrior suggested after extended silence. She had first suggested it when Aang set out on his travels and Katara had chosen to stay with her people, but it had been met with harsh reception. Perhaps now, after Katara would consider it as an option. But the waterbender shook her head.

"I can't just give up like that..." But Katara's response was slow and thoughtful, as if giving it her full attention.

"It's not giving up, really, it'll just give him a taste of how his life would be so horrible without you," Suki teased, giving her shoulder a playful shove. "He'll come to his senses before long, you'll see."

"Hey, are you done having your girly talk?" Sokka whined from the other side of the open space, standing near one of the large granite columns of the surrounding colonnade.

"Oh, are you done trying to sneak food out of the kitchen? Are you bored now?" Katara countered with a smirk as she stood, followed by Suki.

"The kitchens are on lockdown with everything happening today," Sokka grumbled dejectedly, lower lip jutted out in a pout as the two approached him.

"You'll get enough to fill that bottomless stomach of yours, you always do," Suki laughed warmly, patting the young man's face as if patting a child's. Sokka looked like he was contemplating sticking his tongue out at his betrothed, but apparently she was familiar with the look because when she raised her eyebrows in warning, it was enough to quell it.

Katara flicked her eyes to Suki's and raised a brow ever so slightly, to convey how impressed she was. The warrior replied with an amused twitch of her lips, and Sokka was starting to catch on now because he began demanding, pathetically, that they stop speaking their secret girl language. This earned a laugh from both women, and suddenly they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What's so funny? Did Snoozles sprout antlers or something?"

Toph Beifong was not directly discernible, the palace guard serving as her escort was much taller and standing directly in front of her, but a quick step to the side on her part revealed the teenager in all her Earth Kingdom finery. She looked every bit the model for perfect poise and decorum expected of a young lady from a wealthy family.

"Toph!" Katara and Suki exclaimed together in joy, hugging the earthbender on either side while the guard slipped away unnoticed, no doubt to tell the Fire Lord that another of his esteemed guests had arrived. Sokka just frowned, trying to resist the initial high of seeing a good friend he hadn't seen in a year, but eventually he gave in and joined the group hug, adding in his excited voice to their mix.

"Alright, alright, I'm glad to see you guys too! But you're suffocating me!" Toph protested, but there was a smile on her face all the same. When they had all quieted down, conversation drifted to what the others had been doing: Sokka was shadowing his father to learn the ways of being chief of their Tribe, Suki recently joining him in the South Pole after tying up a few loose ends on Kyoshi, Katara teaching healing and bending in the Southern Tribe while she wasn't fulfilling her ambassador duties, and Toph busy with her metalbending school.

"So what's Sparky been up to?" Toph asked after the conversation came to a comfortable lull. The question was aimed more at Katara, of course, since she had been at the palace the longest. As if to emphasize this fact, Sokka and Suki both looked at the waterbender expectantly.

"What am I, his babysitter?" She muttered in response, shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to another. Suddenly feeling scrutinized under their eyes, she glared defiantly back at them. And even though Toph was blind, she got her fair share of it too.

"Hey, no reason to get defensive," Sokka retaliated after the glare came his way. He put his hands up defensively.

"Well, it's not like we're best buddies or anything," Katara huffed.

"Is his wound still acting up?" Suki asked, trying to dispel the tense mood between the siblings. The Kiyoshi warrior knew for a fact that the waterbending master always checked the Fire Lord's old wound for any problems.

"He said it hasn't been bothering him, but I think he had some sort of spasm in his shoulder last night." Katara related the scene where Zuko's hand had lingered after he had inspected her hair for an imaginary pond plant. Suki said nothing, and made a mental note to speak about the incident privately, but Toph couldn't help but ruin her careful planning by saying exactly what was on the warrior's mind.

"HA! Sparky _totally_ has a crush on you, Sugar Queen!" The blind earthbender clapped her hands gleefully as Suki shot her an unnoticed glare, while Sokka and Katara's mouths dropped open in unison.

"That's ridiculous, Toph!" The Water Tribe woman finally spluttered out. Now she was recalling every memory of the Fire Lord, trying to analyze every healing session and accidental meeting for evidence of Toph's conclusion. Now what seemed like innocent glances were looks of adoration, and every touch of her arm was an attempt to get closer to her. _'I'm blowing this out of proportion,'_ she thought dizzily. _'Just be rational: Toph _always _gets a kick out of busting my chops.'_ Of course. Just relax.

"Besides, Zuko _knows_ she's with Aang," Sokka added. This did nothing to help Katara's mood, since she had been considering taking a break from dating the Avatar.

"Look, I'm just putting the facts together and that's what makes the most sense to me." Toph shrugged. If everyone was in denial, then let them be.

Conversation returned to lighter subjects, and before they knew it a palace guard announced it was time for the festivities to begin, and their presence was needed in the large, open-aired courtyard. The young heroes followed obediently and soon found themselves seated at a large banquet table elevated slightly to look over many similar long tables perpendicular to theirs and filled with citizens of all nationalities, but mostly comprised of Fire Nation.

The four of them took their customary seats, with Zuko already sitting in the middle of the table. Sokka sat on the Fire Lord's right, and Suki beside him. Aang usually sat on Zuko's other side, with Katara and Toph following. When the waterbender took her seat, she glanced quickly at the empty seat between her and Zuko and then at Zuko himself, as if to ask where the young monk was. The Fire Lord shook his head ever so slightly. He didn't know either. Now fully disappointed, is was if the last of her had reached a consensus on what to do about her relationship with Aang.

Zuko stood and made a lengthy speech about the prosperous period of all the nations after the war, about the Peace Restoration Movement, and so on. Unsurprisingly, Katara had zoned out. Just when she expected it to end, though, the Fire Lord had another announcement to make.

"As I am sure you all know, I am still without a bride. Within the next couple of full moons, I will be hosting a masquerade at the Palace. Young noblewomen are welcome, of course, but young noblemen will be able to attend as well. Think of it as a large matchmaking event." At this, the young firebender gave the tiniest twitch of his lips, which might've been a smile. The crowd below erupted in a mix of excited murmurs and exclamations, talking amongst themselves. Zuko waited patiently for the noise to die down before making his concluding remarks and thereby signaling the start of the festival for the next few days, beginning with a feast.

Sokka's mouth was practically watering by the time some sort of meat was served, and he gobbled it down with enthusiasm. Before the feast was halfway finished, Suki had discretely snuck into Aang's empty seat beside Katara, who wasn't very hungry apparently.

"Hey," Suki flashed her friend a quick smile. She could tell the waterbender was distracted by something, but if Katara wanted to talk about it she'd bring it up later. After a moment more of picking at their food in relative silence, the Kiyoshi warrior turned back to the Tribeswoman and lowered her voice.

"About earlier, what Toph said. I think she's right."

Hushed conversation ensued between the two women, discussing if it was even possible or not. It made Katara uncomfortable to talk about Zuko as a potential love interest, or any sort of interest beyond friendship, especially since she had just come to a decision concerning Aang.

At the same time, though, it was a little exciting. The only other guy she had been interested in had been Jet, and that didn't exactly turn out great. All she had ever known was Aang, and allowing her mind to wonder what other guys were like was definitely a guilty pleasure.

Katara snuck a glance at Zuko, who was accepting a slip of paper from a servant, and tried to see him in a different light. It wasn't only very difficult, it was nearly impossible. It was a miracle in itself that they were on friendly terms, after he had been the very symbol of everything that had ruined her life at such a young age.

"Hey Suki, I think Sokka wants to talk to you - what are you guys talking about?" Zuko narrowed his eyes suspiciously when Suki jumped in surprise. He had just finished scanning the note and a strange look began to crease his features.

"Oh, nothing," Suki replied in her best impression of nonchalance as she rose gracefully and seated herself next to Sokka once more. Zuko wasn't convinced, however, but Katara didn't offer any more clues than the warrior.

After the feast, dancing always followed when the tables were cleared. The citizens usually danced into the small hours of the morning, only to wake a few hours later and repeat the process all over again. Katara had always danced with Aang, and Sokka whenever Suki spared him, but never with Zuko. That's why it was such a surprise when the Fire Lord approached her on the bench.

"What do you mean you want to dance." It wasn't really a question. The way Katara phrased it, it was more of a challenge.

"What do you mean, what do I mean? You're not dancing with anyone, why won't you accept my invitation?"

"Maybe I don't want to dance. Maybe I'm not feeling well." Now Katara was just being difficult. All she wanted to do presently was slink off and be alone. As the day progressed, she had been working herself into a foul mood over Aang and his absence.

"Katara, you can't sulk the entire festival." Zuko sounded exasperated, glancing at the other women who were seated and waiting for a dance. They were looking him up and down, whispering to others behind their hands.

"I'm not sulking. And who says I can't?" Katara surged to her feet, wearing an ankle-length blue and silver kimono now that it was later in the evening.

"I do," Zuko growled as he grabbed one of her wrists. She was about to reach for the nearest source of water, but he gave her a look that seemed to say, _just trust me._ The waterbender yielded suspiciously, allowing herself to be led into the midst of the crowd. The instrumentalists were playing a lively tune, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Zuko stopped abruptly, finding a place that satisfied him, and his companion nearly ran into him but managed to sidestep and bump into someone else. She apologized, embarrassed, but the man didn't seem to mind and just smiled kindly at her.

Turning back to where she had last seen Zuko, she was disappointed to see that he was still there. And looking at her. Katara narrowed her eyes, openly scrutinizing the firebender. He looked like he was about to laugh, but some thought seemed to sober him up.

"We need to talk about Aang."

"You brought me into this dancing crowd to talk about Aang?" She scoffed, but there was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Whatever Zuko was going to tell her wasn't going to be good. The upbeat tune had just ended, and a slower song was just starting. This was a traditional Water Tribe dance, one that emulated the moon and the tides. How it had come to the Fire Nation, Katara could only guess.

Women and men formed two parallel lines, facing their respective partners. Katara crossed to the man on Zuko's right, touched his outstretched palm with her own, and returned to her original place. She repeated the same action with the man on his left, as did the other women in her line. The men now took a step forward, then rocked back. Forward, and back. Forward, and back. Their movements mimicked the tides, the men, being pulled on by the moon, their partnering woman. Bit by agonizing bit, the line of men drew closer. What did Zuko have to tell her? Was it actually important, or was he just having fun with it?

The men stretched out their arms in unison, palms flat toward their partner, and the women mirrored them. Zuko's face was all intensity, focused on the motions of the dance. Their palms didn't quite touch, yet, and as the men surged forward as one, the women stood their ground, bending their elbows in to accommodate the close quarters.

Up close, Katara could see the intensity she had recognized burn like an open flame in the Fire Lord's golden eyes, and she was taken aback. Palms still didn't touch. Every other woman would now surge forward, pressing her partner back into the same position she had been in, Katara one of those women. Now she shifted to the right, her left hand aligned with his left, and the pairs rotated in small circles, imitating Tui and La in their never-ending dance.

"Katara," Zuko murmured, drawing her out of her concentration. The dance always made her feel more in tune with her bending element. She looked up at her partner expectantly, nervously.

"Aang wanted me to tell you...I got his messenger hawk before the feast-he's giving up his worldly attachments." He seemed to stumble over the words as he continued, trying to find the best way to put it, but Katara knew what he really meant.

"He's giving me up?" She whispered hoarsely, because for some reason her throat had gone dry. Why did she feel like her heart had just dropped into her stomach, when she had been about to do the same thing to him? Shouldn't she feel at least a little better, knowing that? But no, it didn't help, and she suddenly felt like she was all alone on a small ice piece of ice, stranded in the middle of the ocean. Her throat closed up and she felt like crying.

'_I will not cry. I will not cry. I will **not **cry!'_

It must have shown on her face, because Zuko had his hand on her shoulder and his face was full of sympathy. She didn't know when they had stopped dancing, but now the next song had started up. Katara felt like a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth, finding no words to say.

"I'm so sorry..." That was all Zuko could offer to the Water Tribe woman, and that's all it took to break her delicate resolve. He folded his arms around her softly as she sobbed into his silken robes, most likely staining them irreparably. He glared at anyone who dared to notice Katara's grief, sending and curious passerby away as if they had winged feet.

She felt so ashamed. How could she just break down in the middle of the festival, on Zuko's chest? Where was her strength? There was never a thought to romance, now - she just needed him as the stable friend he'd always been.

'_Some things can't be helped, I suppose,' _she thought dully as she collected herself, wiping her nose on a silken handkerchief tucked into her long sleeves.

"Please excuse me." Before Zuko could object, Katara was gone. Her soft voice still rang in his ears like the loudest peal of a gong, and then he started to panic.

'_What should I do? Should I go after her? Where is she going? Will she be alright?'_

The Fire Lord frantically searched the crowd for Suki - she'd know what to do. It took for what seemed like an eternity before he found her, but when he related his problem Suki's eyes widened at she took off without a word, leaving him to look helplessly at Sokka. The Water Tribesman only shrugged, but he was worried as well. Zuko tilted his head back to take in the stars soberly, and he thought about the young woman whose life he had surely changed.


	4. Drunken Misadventures

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks so much for reading! I just felt absolutely terrible about wrecking Katara's life in the previous chapter, but I've gotta tear down what's there before building a new *preferable* relationship. ;)**

**If you'll notice, I've changed the rating from "K+" to "T" for drunkenness in this chapter. Not sure where that falls in the rating scale, but just in case. It was bound to go up eventually. *winkwink***

**Anyway, today is my birthday so I decided to belt out another chapter for everyone to enjoy. Happy birthday to meee! Enjoy!**

**Sadly, Avatar doesn't belong to me. Le sigh.**

* * *

"Hey, what about that one? He's kinda cute?"

It was only a couple of months after the festival celebrating the Hundred Year War, after Aang broke it off with Katara, and Suki was trying to cheer up her future sister-in-law. After much coaxing, the warrior finally succeeded in dragging the waterbender into a bar.

"Yeah, sure," she grunted, not even looking at the young man Suki had so painstakingly chosen out. Ever since the festival, Katara had been an unconsolable mess. She spent her days cooped up in her room at the Palace, since it would only be a waste of time to return to the South Pole before the masquerade. At night, she would haunt the palace grounds like some forlorn ghost. Both Sokka and Zuko walked on eggshells around her, afraid to say or do anything that might make her cry or freeze them to the nearest object.

"Can I get two more of these mango things?" Suki called out to the bartender, who happily obliged, and Suki took her glass in hand. "Katara, I'm going to get you royally blitzed." The female warrior was so serious in her announcement that the other woman simply had no other choice but to show a tiny smile of amusement. "That's more like it! Now, down the hatch!" Suki laughed and took a large gulp, her companion following suit.

* * *

At approximately three in the morning, the two women were stumbling around the palace, making quite a ruckus. The guards let them carry on, having a vague idea of Katara's situation. Besides, who in the palace would really mind?

Zuko never kept what most would call 'normal' hours any longer, staying awake late into the night and waking at first dawn. He liked to work in places other than his office, since the memory of his father still haunted him there, like in libraries or various empty rooms with no particular uses.

Tonight, it was a small yet cozy library he had chosen to ensconce himself within, and he was waist deep in paperwork when he heard Suki and Katara's drunken laughter echoing down the hallway.

'_I hope she had fun, at least,'_ Zuko thought wistfully, wishing _he_ could go out for a stiff drink to forget his worries.

He worried a lot about Katara lately, since it was he who had given her Aang's message. She had later demanded to see the message, and he acquiesced. How could he refuse? He could still recall watching her brilliantly blue eyes scan the message quickly - there hadn't been much, other than that - and more tears ensued, but less than before. She had run from him then, dropping the tearstained scrap behind her as she disappeared. That had been the last time Katara had really spoken to him. Zuko was drawn out of his depressing reverie by the drunken commotion that had just passed his closed door.

A slurred voice, it might be Katara's, was being raised. She sounded angry at first, and Zuko couldn't help but smile. Who knew Katara was an angry drunk? But then the slurring became sad, mournful, enough to break hearts. Maybe his heart was breaking, just thinking of how she was coping so poorly, but he couldn't be sure.

The Fire Lord stood hesitantly, stepping quietly over the dark wooden floor to the door. Pressing his ear against it wasn't necessary, he could hear Katara's sobs and Suki's comforting murmurs.

'_Aang,'_ he thought angrily, clenching his fists. He must have known what this would do to Katara. Why didn't he tell her himself? Was he so afraid? Was he a coward? Zuko fought this point in his head, reasoning that Aang was the Avatar and he had important duties to the world than sparing a woman's feelings.

'_But he left Katara like this. He _knew_ what it would do to her.'_ He didn't bother to continue the fight with himself, because the arguing started up outside again.

"This is _your _fault! I should've never listened to you!" Yeah, that was definitely Katara's voice.

"I just told you the _truth_," Suki spat back. "If you don't like it, that's your problem. You couldn't be in a serious relationship with a guy that's traveling all over, doing his Avatar thing! It _had _to end, you were already considering it. Just get over it!"

Zuko could hear Katara's spluttering, trying to find words that Suki was wrong, trying to deny what she knew in her heart to be true. Katara muttered something unintelligible to Zuko's ears, and Suki replied in a gentler voice.

"There are plenty of other guys. What about Zuko?" She joked. "He's pretty cool. Er, I mean hot." Much giggling over the lame pun followed, and said firebender was in the making of a profuse blush.

"Remember what Toph said? I think maybe he _does_ like you," the warrior teased, and suddenly Zuko wondered what had been said about him. It was to be expected that women would talk of him, he was a very eligible bachelor, but his own friends?

"Oh, I don't know..."

"C'mon, what's not to like? He's a powerful bender, his hair is great, and he's the Fire Lord! And if you can get past the scar, you're set!"

"Um yeah, I guess..." The blush was creeping into Katara's voice now, and Zuko was surely as red as a tomato-beet.

"Let's see if we can find our illustrious Fire Lord, he keeps weird hours right? Maybe a kiss is all you need to set you straight!" Suki began to laugh loudly, as if what she said had been terribly hilarious, and the slightly stumbling footsteps continued down the hall.

When Zuko came out of his thoughts, his fingers were lingering on his lips. He had never really given a conscious thought about kissing the waterbender. If he had ever thought about it at all, it was merely instinctual. Right? He only wanted to hold her in his arms, to take away her pain, because she was a close friend. Yes, a friend.

Zuko relaxed, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and strode across the room to the desk he had previously occupied. He considered the paperwork only momentarily before deciding it was time to attempt sleep. Shuffling the scrolls into some amount of order, he placed them in the desk, locking the drawers before extinguishing the flames and stepping out into the cool night.

There was no sign of Suki or Katara, but he cautiously made his way to his bedchamber all the same. He was just within sight of the door when a figure staggered from a large pool of shadows toward him.

Cursing his luck, Zuko squinted to discern Katara's features in the dim light. _Katara._ His heart beat quickened momentarily, but he reigned it in swiftly.

"Katara, what are you doing out so late?" He tried to keep his voice calm and measured, but it came out raspy as if he hadn't spoken in days.

"Oh, it's not so late," she replied hazily, continuing towards him with a dumb, sloppy grin on her face.

"It's almost dawn."

"Pffft."

"Katara, I know you're drunk. Why don't you sleep it off." A flame jumped to life in Zuko's palm, and the waterbender watched it dance, mesmerized. He took her arm firmly with his other hand, and started to guide her toward the guest wing.

All the way there she giggled, rambled, and carried on, as drunk people do, stumbling every now and then. When they finally stopped in front of her designated room, she peered up into his face as if unsure who she was talking to.

"I'm really sorry, I'm such a burden right now, but Suki says I'll get better, I promise," Katara said all at once, some of her words running together sloppily. She looked as if she feared being kicked out of the palace, and folded onto the ground in a clumsy bow, just as she had seen servants do.

"Ah, no, what are you doing?" Zuko gave and exasperated sigh and knelt down in front of her, pulling at one of her arms and forcing her face to be level with his. Her blue eyes were wide with her imaginary fear, and tears were threatening to spill.

"Hey, hey, none of that now, you can stay here as long as you want, okay? You're not a burden, you're a friend, so it's alright. Got it? Please don't cry any more, please." By the end Zuko was begging, tired of seeing one of his few friends so devastated by news _he_ had delivered.

The young man closed his eyes, frustrated and conflicted about his two friends, and leaned forward so that his forehead was solidly touching Katara's. Zuko noted that her skin was cooler than his, and wondered briefly if it was because he was a firebender or if she was a waterbender. Maybe both.

He tried to will happiness into the her through their physical contact, tiredness and stress making it seem like a plausible idea. Duty and responsibility weighed heavily on him every day, wearing him like waves crashing on beach rocks.

"Please don't cry, please don't cry..." It became a soft chant, a mantra of the moment in the flickering firelight, and he realized _he _was starting to break down now. The familiar emotions welling up inside of his chest, threatening to spill out in some rash act. He withdrew from her and stared at the ground.

Katara began to take up his chant too, dreamy and far away, and Zuko realized his face was twisted in desperation and sadness. It was an effort to school his features into smoothness. He switched his concentration back to the young woman in front of him. He could see her eyes held compassion, though they were clouded from the alcohol.

"Don't you dare feel sorry for me," Zuko growled defensively, but he didn't pull away when Katara placed an unsteady hand on his cheek. His scarred cheek. He wanted to pull away, to leave her here and try to sleep, but he found himself frozen in place. When the waterbender opened her mouth, he thought her next remark would be related to his scar.

"Your eyes are magnificent," she breathed. Katara wasn't looking at his scar at all, transfixed instead on how the flame in his hand made his golden eyes seem to dance.

Zuko frowned, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks. Had anyone ever looked at his face and complimented him on his eyes? Most people couldn't get past the scar. The waterbender had closed what little space there had been between their faces in her fascination, still studying his eyes avidly.

It was as if her intrusion into his personal space was a signal to shut down all logical thought. Zuko couldn't focus on anything beyond the present - beyond this woman in front of his face. Suki's words echoed in his head:

"_Maybe a kiss is all you need to set you straight!" _

A kiss...

How long had it been since he had kissed a woman? Since Mai? Maybe Suki was right, maybe it would make her better. Like a magic potion.

Instinct was beginning to take over his body. His pulse was racing, mind stuck between indecision. He _wanted_ to close the remaining distance and steal a kiss from Katara, but part of him struggled. That part reminded him that she was a _friend_, and she was going through enough emotional stress as it was.

'_She won't remember, she's drunk out of her mind.'_

'_And what if she does remember? What if she hates me?'_

"Zuko..." His name was like a sigh coming from her lips, so innocently dependent on him right now.

"I'll take care of you, Katara," he vowed quietly, clenching his fists and cutting out the light source. She gave a startled gasp, and he pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before scooping the incapacitated waterbender into his arms. He opened the door, careful not to drop her, and before he knew it he was pulling the silken sheets over her body. Her body was already curled away from him by the time he was finished.

"Goodnight, hope your hangover isn't too bad tomorrow," the Fire Lord murmured softly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear before making his exit.

"Ugh," Katara groaned, throwing her pillow over her head in defense of the sunlight. Was it just her, or was it even more menacing than before? She recalled her night with Suki, and reasoned that this must be what a hangover felt like. That would explain the pounding headache. Her mouth was dry, but Katara didn't want to move. A sudden wave of illness sent her running to the washroom, though, where she promptly threw up into the washbasin.

Curled up on the floor, the waterbender was sure she would die from the splitting headache. Some moments later, Sokka made an appearance and stood over her, shaking his head and a grin splitting his face.

"Suki told me you might be in this sorry state. I'd stay here to take care of you for a while, but she's not exactly happy, so I brought Zuko!" Her brother stepped aside to reveal the Fire Lord, dressed down to a simple tunic and pants. Just then, Katara's stomach decided it was time to empty itself again, and she hauled herself up to oblige. She muttered something that sounded like, _"why are you yelling."_

"Uh, yeah, so good luck with her, it's her first time," Sokka grimaced as he clapped Zuko on the shoulder and disappeared.

"Do you, uh, want me to hold your hair back?" The firebender offered awkwardly, wondering if she remembered anything of their encounter last night.

"Leave me alone," Katara growled, scrubbing her lips with a nearby towel. The last person she wanted help from right now was _him_. Without a word, Zuko retreated into the bedroom. He placed himself in a plush chair in the corner, after drawing the curtains closed, and waited. The waterbender retched a couple more times, until she was dry heaving, and finally shuffled back into the dim room.

"I thought I told you to leave."

"I have express orders from your brother to stay."

"He's not my keeper," she snapped, and clutched at her head.

"Drink some tea, you're dehydrated." Zuko stood and poured her a cup of tea from a pot he had brought. She eyed it warily, but decided he was only trying to help the situation, and sipped at it. Katara nearly spit the horrible brew out at once, but swallowed reluctantly.

"It's Uncle's special brew. He said it can cure a hangover in half the time. It doesn't taste the best but..." The Fire Lord shrugged when his patient shot him a glare and set her cup on a side table. "I think you'll be good as new by the evening if you keep drinking it. So what were you doing at a bar, anyway?"

"Suki was trying to get me to canoodle with some guys she thought I might like, same as always," Katara replied dismissively as she flopped down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Then she had the brilliant idea that we should get wasted. I don't even know how we got back here."

"Maybe you can meet a decent guy at the masquerade. I'm sure there will be plenty of young noblemen," Zuko offered, but he felt a twinge of jealousy in his chest. He knew Katara was too good for any of those spoiled little lordlings. The waterbender merely shrugged, but she was acclimating to the idea of moving on with her life. It had been two months ago, after all.

"Are you nervous about finding a wife?"

It was the firebender's turn to shrug. He reminded himself that she probably couldn't see him, so he replied,

"I guess I never expected to marry for love. It's my duty, and the Fire Nation needs a Lady. And an heir." He added the last part after a moment of thought.

"That's not fair." Katara's voice was quiet when she finally spoke.

"Life's not fair," Zuko countered, standing abruptly. The only thing keeping him in the room was his promise to Sokka, as well as the promise he made last night.

_I'll take care of you, Katara._

Instead of leaving, he poured more tea into her cup and proffered the platter of assorted fruit for her inspection. She protested she wasn't hungry, but after he coaxed her into taking a bite, she turned ravenous. The only pieces remaining were papaya.

"I _hate_ papayas," the waterbender frowned, staring down the offending fruit, which Zuko deftly consumed himself. After persuading her to finish the cup of tea, the Fire Lord felt that the day had been quite successful.

A nap followed, Katara in the bed and Zuko in the chair, and the world was at peace until Toph threw open the large doors and loudly proclaimed that it was time for dinner. This sent the two formerly dozing benders into a state of panic. When they realized the palace wasn't burning down, they straightened the wrinkles out of their clothes and freshened up quickly before heading out with the earthbender.

"Hey! I feel pretty normal!" Katara rejoiced, stopping to wrap her arms around Zuko in a hug.

"I told you the tea was worth it," he gave her his signature small, lopsided smile and patted her back awkwardly. Toph snorted and rolled her eyes, but he caught her cheeky, all knowing grin when Katara had gone ahead of them.

"Nothing like bonding over a hangover." Toph was grinning openly, like a Cheshire cat, expecting him to spill the beans over why his heartbeat had been a little erratic when Katara hugged him.

"Nope," Zuko agreed curtly. He was _not_ going to admit to anything. Katara was a friend, and just happened to be an attractive woman. That was all.

"C'mon Sparky, why don't you just save us the trouble of the masquerade and date Sweetness instead?"

"I've already invested a lot of time and money into planning it, and I wouldn't date her anyway. She's just come out of a long relationship, and the last thing she needs is one of her guy friends lusting after her - " Zuko stopped abruptly, shocked at his choice of words, and he looked at Toph with his jaw slack in surprise. Her eyebrows were halfway to her hairline, so it would appear that he wasn't the only one surprised.

"Er, poor word choice..." He added lamely, though it had some truth to it. Last night was the first and only night he had had one of _those_ dreams about the waterbender. Her lips had been so smooth, her skin so soft - needless to say he had awoken very unsatisfied.

Toph only grunted, as they had reached the small dining hall where they had all taken dinner together for the past couple of months. Katara was already chatting with Sokka and poking fun at Suki, who hadn't quite fully recovered from last night. The table was circular and the seating was much like that of the feast, except that the empty chair that signified the Avatar's absence had been removed, Katara now sitting next to the Fire Lord. After his conversation with Toph, Zuko could practically feel the awkwardness emanating from him in waves.

Despite this, dinner was more enjoyable than it had been since Aang ended his relationship with Katara, and she finally seemed to be recovering. She was still quiet, for the most part, but sometimes contributed to the conversation or smiled at something Sokka said.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Katara," Sokka smiled, relieved that she had started to perk up a bit. "Maybe we should get you drunk as a skunk-ferret more often!" Everybody laughed at this, including Katara.

"Maybe it was her great caretaker," Suki teased, and everyone laughed again, but some with less conviction. The end of the meal came, and usually everyone dispersed to their respective rooms, but Suki insisted they stay together since they hadn't spent much time together that day.

After many outrageous ideas from Sokka as to how they should spend the rest of the evening, one involving cactus juice, everyone agreed upon lounging around a fire pit on an open patio overlooking the garden. Zuko lit the fire and conversation shifted to the masquerade.

"So, how do you expect to meet _every_ girl attending? They'll all just flock around you!" Sokka pointed out.

"I know, that's why I hired a decoy," Zuko smirked, pleased with the praise for his cleverness. "So, I want you guys to be on the lookout for anyone who might not be who they say they are. Y'know, saving me the heartache of trying to find a replacement," he joked. They all nodded their consent, and the conversation branched. The women discussed what they were wearing while Sokka gave Zuko advise on how he should approach a woman and strike up a conversation, which was laughable, but some of his points weren't half bad.

"My parents said I should find a husband," Toph snorted. "I'm so awesome, I intimidate any man within a fifty foot radius!" They all laughed, mostly because it was true.

"I'm never getting married," Katara said resolutely, and everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Katara, I know you feel that way now, but one day - "

"No, Suki, I don't want to be bothered with romance any longer." Katara shook her head for emphasis.

"Yeah! Welcome to the club, Sugar Queen!" Toph cheered, and punched the waterbender squarely in the bicep.

"Ha, thanks Toph," she replied, wincing at the blow.

"We'll have wild flings and rub our freedom to do _whatever_ we want with _whomever_ we want in Suki's married face!" Everyone enjoyed another round of laughter, since the idea of either of the women involved in risqué affairs was more than hilarious.

Before they knew it, the moon had risen high in the sky, and Sokka was the first to have a yawn crack his jaw. They bid each other good night, Zuko turning right and the rest turning left. Sokka and Suki took a left when the hallway reached a dead end, leaving Toph and Katara to walk alongside each other in comfortable silence when they turned right.

"I don't think you should be alone forever," Toph spoke into the silence as they ghosted along the hard floor. Her companion didn't answer, so she continued. "I think that there's a really great guy just waiting for you to come around and blow his mind. I don't know what you're going through right now, but maybe Suki was right - "

"Suki's been wrong before," Katara snapped.

"Yeah, well, my feet never lie, Sugar Queen." And with that, the earthbender disappeared down a corridor to their left.

'_She just won't let that Zuko thing go,'_ She sighed as she opened her door. Her first step was met with a crinkle, and upon removing her foot Katara saw that there was a note scrawled in a severe hand.

_If you need to talk, I'll listen._

_Zuko_

She checked the other side, but that was all that was written. Rolling her eyes, she discarded the paper carelessly and hurried through her nightly routine. She debated over bathing, but decided it could wait until the morning.

As she wriggled into the sheets, Katara was annoyed to find that Zuko's weird message was still echoing in her head. As she tried to puzzle out what she had said to make him react that way, a wave of sleep crashed over her, and she never reasoned it out.

* * *

**A/N: That wasn't so bad, was it? I'm a huge fan of awkward!Zuko, and it only gets better when that's combined with pervert!Zuko. Because you all know he's a closet perv. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. :)**


	5. First Dance

**A/N: Hi guys! I can't believe I've gotten this far into the fic. Like, seriously, I never finish anything I start. It's your reviews and favs that keep me going! Plus, it's super hard to give up on such a great ship. ;)**

**I know I keep making Katara the Queen of Angst, but stick with me! I promise she'll become happier with time (and a new relationship, oho!). **

**So. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, because I kept getting stuck on it for some reason. Happy reading! 3**

**Asharion: Thank you very much! I've felt the same way, so I decided to write a fic that I (and hopefully others) would enjoy! ^^**

* * *

The day of the masquerade started as any normal day for Zuko. He rose at dawn and practiced his firebending forms before a light breakfast. His forms took careful concentration this morning, and he supposed it was nervous anticipation.

"Today marks the first of many opportunities to meet a radiant young woman, Zuko. You should eat more," his mother urged him.

"I'm not hungry," he replied.

"Oh, Zuko, I know you're nervous, but this is for the best."

"I have a duty to the Fire Nation. I know."

Ursa gave her son a sympathizing smile accompanied by more reassuring words. He didn't hear them, though, because he was going over the details of the night in his head.

Zuko's mask had been chosen at random, a moderately hideous affair reminding him of the Blue Spirit, with its blue and white coloring. His decoy's mask, however, was chosen very carefully, and was the likeness of a phoenix. The mask was decorated in gold and a deep scarlet; surely that would shout "Fire Lord" to anyone seeking him out.

His clothes would be of lesser Fire Nation nobility, nothing too showy, and of course the decoy would be dressed to the nines. The decoy would attract all of the shallow women while he was free to roam among the others. What could possibly go wrong?

"Zuko, are you listening to me?"

"Er..."

"Oh, go take a bath," she chided him gently, but her face wore a smile.

"Of course, mother," he replied with a smile in return, bowing in the traditional Fire Nation fashion before retreating to his room.

When the servants had filled the porcelain tub with water, Zuko dismissed them, stripped down, and sunk into the water. Using his bending to warm the water was unnecessary, so he submerged his body up to his chin and thought about how he would spend the day.

A few things came to mind, and he thought of what his friends might be doing. Sokka and Suki might be doing something together; Toph and Katara could be sparring.

_Katara._

The way his mind lingered on her unspoken name made him flush a bit, and the fact that he was sitting buck naked in the bath tub didn't help at all. He quickly finished washing and dressed in the same manner.

Deciding a walk would clear his mind, he set out with no real destination. His feet took him to the turtle duck pond Mother enjoyed so much. Mother wasn't the first woman on his mind when he stared into the water, though.

Zuko thought back to the night when he had been watching Katara practice her bending under the moon. Agni, she had looked like a spirit with the moonlight hitting her like that. She was the Katara he had always known - compassionate yet refreshingly sarcastic.

Now it seemed like she was a shell of herself, like the split with Aang had sucked the life out of her. Thinking of how she had changed always depressed the Fire Lord, and he hoped that she had seen the note he slipped under her door a few nights ago.

'_Maybe she didn't see it. Maybe she did, but doesn't want my help. Maybe she saw it and is actually doing fine.'_

Zuko shook his head ruefully when he realized he had been worrying over her. He had to worry about something, apparently, since he had given up his leadership responsibilities to his mother until the masquerade had run its course.

On a whim, he left the garden with purpose in his stride. It was still quite early, but maybe she was awake. His step quickened with anticipation and hope, nervousness weighing heavily in the pit of his stomach.

When he arrived at her door, his heart was practically pounding out of his chest. Maybe it was time to admit he might have a _tiny_ crush on Katara. With all the care he had learned as the Blue Spirit, he opened the door a crack and was rewarded with the sight of an empty bed and open curtains.

Confused as to where the waterbender might be, he opened the door wide enough to admit himself. That's when she appeared from the bathroom wrapped in a dark red towel, her hair damp and tangled. Zuko thought his eyes would pop out of his head, and his jaw was surely hitting the floor. It took her a moment to notice him, but all Hell broke loose when she did.

"_ZUKO!_ What in La's name are you doing here?" She shrieked and bent the clean water from the washbasin to shoot him out into the hall. The door slammed as he stared dumbly from his new position on the floor. Her face was bright red, angry and embarrassed that he had walked in on her at _exactly _the wrong moment. Still sopping wet, Zuko gathered himself. He stood at her door, unsure of how to amend this.

"Hey, uh, sorry about that. Just wanted to see how you were doing," he called through the door. There was a commotion that sounded like hurried dressing, and soon Katara opened the door. She glared up at him from under her dark lashes, waiting for more of an explanation.

"Er, well, I was just thinking about how you've been so down...But you've been doing better!" He added hurriedly, not entirely sure which words were the right ones to say. "I was just, um, concerned?" Was concerned okay? This seemed to sate her, for the time being, because her face lost some of its hostility.

"I had a dream..." she said vaguely, leaning on the door frame.

"A bad dream?" She shrugged. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't really remember it...something about a riot, I think the Avatar was involved somehow..." Katara let the sentence drift, her eyes became unfocused as if lost in remembering. The nightmares of war weren't common any more, but they did appear every now and then.

"I have nightmares about similar things. Usually about how my Agni Kai with Azula could've gone wrong." He hoped he sounded consoling instead of like a child.

They never talked about the duel, but she had the sudden urge to ask why he had taken the lightning for her. Judging by his tone, it wasn't something he liked to remember. She reigned in her curiosity and placed a hesitant hand on his arm to comfort her friend. They exchanged weak smiles, the embarrassing moment forgotten. The only thing that stopped Zuko from collecting the young woman in his arms was Toph's angry appearance.

"What do you two think you're doing, carrying on like a bunch of komodo rhinos this early in the morning?" She demanded while stomping up to the pair. "Can't you have your lover's quarrel somewhere else!"

"We're not lovers!" Katara exclaimed.

"We're not quarreling," Zuko frowned. The pair exchanged glances.

"We're not lovers," he agreed, while the waterbender echoed his words on fighting. Toph snorted in disbelief.

"If you two don't think yelling and bending at each other doesn't count as a fight, I don't know what does! I know you're soaked, Sparky. I can feel the water dripping from your clothes," she added before he could protest the bending part.

"Okay, uh, maybe I'll see you two tonight," he said awkwardly before taking his leave. He didn't want to leave Katara, but he didn't want everyone in the palace to know his fledgling feelings for her either. Toph would definitely rat him out. Glancing over his shoulder before turning the corner showed the two women talking. Since neither of them looked irritated, the subject had probably changed.

"Toph, I've been thinking, and I think we girls should have a day of pampering before the masquerade tonight!" Katara squealed excitedly, her mood instantly improving when the earthbender inquired about how she'd be spending the day. There were only so many things one could do in the palace, so Toph reluctantly accepted.

They headed to the room Suki shared with Sokka in order to kidnap the woman warrior. When they arrived, there was much debate on how to avoid walking in on any awkward situations that might scar them for life.

Their voices raised to such a volume that Suki appeared and shut the door behind her, glaring at her two friends sleepily. After explaining the plan, the Kyoshi was all smiles when she reappeared, dressed for a relaxing day.

Upon questioning some servants, they found that it was possible to be taken care of if you asked the right people. Eventually the three women found themselves being pampered fully, no expense spared.

First there were the mani/pedis, during which Toph refused to have her feet touched. The lacquer on their nails was clear, since they were not flashy women. The topic of conversation was Sokka, and it was agreed upon that he was a hopeless man most of the time and a good leader for the Tribe the other time.

"I just don't know what you see in him, Suki," Katara sighed as she waited for her nails to dry.

"There's a special charm that people seem to miss," she winked in response. Sloppy kissing noises from Toph ensued, as did much giggling.

"There will be a special guy for you too, Toph! Just you wait and see, he'll turn you to mush!"

"Ha! I'd like to see any man try!" She declared from the massage table. "A little to the right. Oooh yeaaah, that's the stuff."

"I wish Sokka could learn how to do this," Suki sighed contentedly as the masseur worked the muscles in her shoulders. Katara became quiet as she received her massage, slipping back into thinking about Aang. It usually happened when they were talking about relationships.

When they were stewing in their respective mud-tubs, they all discussed different fighting techniques. It all started when Suki asked Toph if she could bend the mud. The earthbender's response was a big _splat!_ of mud in the other woman's face. A messy mud fight ensued, and laughter died away as they got into countering different styles of bending. After getting their hair washed, it was off to the sauna. It was here that Toph chose to bring up the happenings from this morning.

"So, what were you and Sparky doing if you weren't fighting?" She asked after adding another hot rock to the pile. Katara wanted to avoid sharing the embarrassing incident, but Suki would demand all of the details later anyway.

"I had a bad dream so I took a bath to calm myself down, and when I got out, Zuko was standing in my doorway! It's a good thing I decided to wrap a towel around myself. I mean, I don't even want to think about that kind of situation otherwise!" Her cheeks were already flushed from the heat, but now her face was bright red. Suki sympathized with her, and Toph tried to hold back her laughter.

"Yeah, well, you two seemed cozy enough when I got there."

"We were talking about my bad dream," the waterbender shot back. "Apparently he still has nightmares about his Agni Kai with Azula."

"Didn't he jump in front of her lightning to save you?" Suki asked.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know, he's a nice guy?"

"We barely even knew we could trust him...didn't you ever ask him about it?"

"No," Katara shrugged. "It just brings up bad memories."

Suki sat pensively, turning over the new information in her mind, while Toph cracked jokes about the stuffy nobles they'd be surrounded by all night. By the time they had finished their spa day, it was much later in the day.

"I can't believe that took so long!" Toph grumbled, only glad she had tagged along for the company.

"I know, but I feel fresh as new snow," Katara grinned. "We've got about two hours to prepare, so whose room should we get ready in?" They ended up choosing Katara's, since hers had the biggest washroom and two mirrors.

"How do you think I should do my hair?" Suki asked, doubtfully plucking at strands of her auburn hair. She turned from her reflection and gave Katara a pitiful face. If anyone could help the warrior, it was her. The waterbender was carefully combing out her hair, but her mind was elsewhere.

"Do you really think I could meet someone nice tonight?" Apparently she hadn't heard Suki.

"You could, but I'm sure most of the guys will be Fire Nation," Toph replied from her place on the bed. She was biting her fingernails, her hair already done up in the traditional ornament of Upper Right women of Ba Sing Se.

"Toph, we _just_ got our nails lacquered and you're already messing them up!" Katara scolded, having returned from her thoughts. "I thought you broke that habit a while ago." The other bender only gave a noncommittal grunt and thumped her hand to the mattress.

"Um, hello? Hair crisis!" Suki reminded them, and Katara tried to make something different out of her short hair. No combinations of updos or braiding suited the non-bender, though. She waved Katara away with a resigned sigh and reviewed her choices of dresses while the other woman peeked out the window.

"Oh, we're late! The sun has already set!" Katara fretted. She quickly gathered her hair into a bun, and wrapped a braided strand around the base of the bun.

Her dress was a clingy, deep blue sleeveless Cheongsam that ended somewhere above her ankles. It wasn't only the fit that bothered her, but also the slits on either side that began mid-thigh. She admitted the delicate silver flower pattern was exquisite, however, and that had been the selling point.

"How do I look?" Toph asked, fingering the fine silk of the gown. She wore a Hanfu style dress, the outer gown short-sleeved, decorated with a plum blossom pattern, and white with dark green edging. Her inner gown was long-sleeved and pale green with white edging and a dark green belt. Her mask matched the elegancy of her dress, sliver satin surrounded by darker piping and worked with more silver, the eye holes outlined in green.

"Beautiful," Katara reassured her warmly as she fastened her own mask. It was a simple affair, silver to match the flowers in her dress and some wavy blue swirls.

"I can't decide which yukata would look better with my mask," Suki fretted, holding up one, and then the other.

"Well the gold in that one doesn't match the mask at all, but the green goes so well with it..." This discussion went back and forth for at least five minutes before she decided on the green yukata with a yellow flower print and a golden obi. Her mask was a delicate shade of green with golden piping, gold colored vines snaking throughout.

When all three were satisfied, they dashed out of the room as ladylike as possible, and headed toward the grand hall.

"Do you think we should've dressed a little more incognito?" Suki asked. "Isn't the point of a masquerade not knowing who you're talking to?"

"Yeah, I suppose it would be easy for everyone else here to pick us out." Katara glanced down at her blue dress as they went, their slippers making swift _pat pats_.

"Toph, you're not wearing any shoes!"

"I wanted to see clearly," she mumbled as they puffed along.

"Some careless man is going to crush your toes," Katara replied anxiously.

"I'll crush his kneecaps." And that was that.

They stopped to catch their breath and make sure they still looked presentable before turning the last corner and entering the large hall.

Banners of every nationality hung from the high ceiling, and large chandeliers served at the light source. The candlelight illuminated the golden embellishments on the grand staircase in a magnificent glow, and the women walked arm-in-arm down the marble steps into the midst of the crowd.

Katara noted that there were small clusters of blue and green, but that was all. Since the room was full, she assumed that most of the guests had arrived, and there were a great number wearing Fire Nation clothing. That made sense, given their location, but she knew for a fact that a lot of women from other places had responded to the invitation. She concluded that they must be hiding their identity not only behind the mask they wore.

The threesome wandered the floor together, exchanging pleasantries with the other guests milling about. Apparently a song had just ended, and the musicians were discussing which piece to begin next. In the momentary lull, many things seemed to happen at once: Sokka somehow managed to find them and spirit Suki away, Toph was invited to dance, and Katara was left adrift in a sea of strangely masked faces. She was about to head toward the lavishly laid buffet table, since the next song was starting up, when she felt an arm on her shoulder. Instinct told her to turn around and water whip the fellow, but decorum forced her into politeness.

Upon facing the young man, who wanted a dance, Katara could see nothing remarkable about him. He was similar to most of the young noblemen, an intricate red and gold mask with equally elaborate clothing. She only knew the dance from her previous training as an Ambassador. Her partner wasn't a bad dancer, but he wasn't very skilled either. He tried to make small talk, complimenting her dress and how graceful she was. Needless to say, Katara was glad when the song was over.

She tried to seek out Toph, there was always safety in numbers, but it seemed like every time she turned around, there was another young man asking for a dance. After many consecutive dances, she had lost count at seven, the waterbender absolutely had to refuse.

She made her escape out of a door and found herself on a small balcony which overlooked the largest garden in the palace. Katara hadn't realized how warm the hall was until the cool night air enveloped her, and she breathed in the fresh air thankfully.

"It's a nice night," a man's voice commented from the edge of the balcony. Katara couldn't pick him out right away, because he was so still, but caught his movement when he half turned to glance at the intruder.

"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting..."

"Not at all. I'm just here for some fresh air." He turned his back to her and let his attention wander back to the garden. She cautiously meandered over to the stone railing of the balcony, as far from the stranger as she could manage, and studied him out of the corner of her eye.

He was leaning onto the railing with crossed arms, his strange mask almost gruesome in the waxing moonlight. It was unlike most of the Fire Nation themes she had seen, with it's blue coloration and white swirls. Something nagged at the back of her mind - it should be familiar, she thought - and his clothes named him of lesser nobility.

"Do you get a lot of dances with that mask?" She asked, now turning her head to survey him fully. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Not many women want to dance while looking at this." He motioned vaguely to the mask, turning his head slightly to look at her. His voice was deep, and she wondered how old he was.

"I think it's a nice change of pace from all those similar masks," Katara replied, defying those shallow women.

"Then maybe you'd like to dance with me?" He asked quietly. She didn't really want to dance any more, especially since she just got out into the coolness, but she felt sorry for the man no one wanted to dance with.

"I don't dance with men whose names I don't know," she said quickly. Of course that was a total lie, since she had danced with many men without knowing their names. She could almost hear the smiled creeping into his voice as he answered.

"Lee. You can call me Lee."

Katara thought she might regret giving that dance to Lee. She did by the end of the night, only because she found herself engaged in dancing with him for the remainder of the night and her feet were _extremely_ sore.

During their first dance, there wasn't much to be said until they hit on the Hundred Year War during the last few measures of the song. He told a bewitching tale of his transformation from a loyal Fire Nation soldier to a rebel for the Avatar's cause, so naturally that lasted at least a few more songs, and they discussed everything from the Siege of Ba Sing Se to Sozin's Comet.

Slowly, the number of guests dwindled without their notice. When the musicians announced their last song, they were both surprised that they had been together so long. It was a slow and steady Earth Kingdom tune, the beats solid and carefully measured.

The following silence between them was awkward, and when the song end they stepped away from each other.

"I should be going. Thank you for a wonderful night." She said solemnly as she curtsied, and he bowed, before she walked away quickly.

The man sighed as he watched her go. A glance around the emptying room showed that the decoy Fire Lord had already left. He disappeared behind a curtain that concealed a secret passage and followed the winding path to where he would meet the decoy.

"How was your night, my Lord?" The decoy asked with a respectful bow upon his arrival.

"As good as can be expected."

* * *

Later, when sleep refused to come to Zuko, he recalled how the night had gone in his head.

Just as he had anticipated, no woman really wanted to dance with a man who wore such a different, ugly mask. He had to wear the full-faced mask to hide the telltale scar, and it wasn't too much trouble to deepen his voice a few octaves. He had been frustrated about getting nowhere, though, and had retreated to a lonely balcony to think and cool off.

He had been joined by a Water Tribe woman, her skin and dress color were his indicators, and he danced with her for the rest of the night. She was enthralled by his half made up version of his participation in the war, and they had talked so long the last dance of the night surprised them both.

'_This one shows promise,' _he thought as he stared at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. He was still caught up in the image of the young woman. Maybe Katara knew her, since there were so few in attendance from both the Northern and Southern Tribes. It suddenly struck him, though, that he forgot to ask the woman's name. With an inward groan, he rolled over to stare at his furnishings. Would he ever sleep tonight?

That woman, would he ever see her again? Was she thinking about him, too? Or was she thinking of a way to avoid him tomorrow night because their parting felt so awkward? Why was he even thinking about this?

'_At least mother will be pleased there is a candidate, so the whole thing wasn't an entire waste.'_ He tried to cheer himself with the thought. Maybe his mystery woman would find him more appealing if she knew who he really was. But no, that was the point in being in disguise. He resolved to get to know her better the following night, and that put his mind at ease enough for him to eventually attain sleep.

* * *

The following morning dawned clear and bright; a perfect example of weather at the end of summer in the Fire Nation. By the time the sun had doubled it's height above the horizon, Zuko was having the obligatory conversation with his mother about the first night of the masquerade.

"Only one woman danced with me more than once," he shrugged as he picked over his breakfast.

"And what was she like?"

Ursa sat patiently as the young man explained, asking questions where he didn't give enough information. He felt a little awkward talking about women with his mother, but he was sure the conversation wouldn't go over any better with his uncle. She sat quietly after he had finished, and sipped at her tea. She was the very picture of serenity, of what a Fire Lady should be.

"Well, pursue her if you are interested," was all she said. The fact that he had been given permission was irksome, but he could make exceptions for his mother.

"Mother I - I also wanted to talk to you about someone else," Zuko confessed. "It's - ah - about a woman I know."

"Is it about your crush on Katara?"

He was utterly abashed. Not that he had kept it intentionally from his mother. After all, he had just come to recognize the feelings the day before.

"Mother, how did you..."

"When you get to be my age, the world becomes a less mysterious place," she smiled kindly at him. "She's well traveled, and marrying out of the Nation would reinforce the idea of harmony throughout the world. Her tribal upbringing may be the only potential flaw." Here, her delicate features crinkled into a slight frown. "She would have to learn the ways of Court, as well as the Fire Nation."

"It's not like I want to marry her," he huffed quietly. Marriage seemed like a leap to the moon from his small affections. "Besides, she's very proud of her people. Why would she accept my people if she wouldn't even leave hers for the Avatar."

"Love makes people do strange things," she said mysteriously, staring into her cup of tea.

_Love._

They couldn't possibly love each other now. But could they eventually? Would it be too awkward for their friends, for them? Zuko thought about the woman he had met at the masquerade. Maybe he was better off with someone he didn't know.

It was around noon when Suki and Toph barged into Katara's room. Of course, she was still sleeping.

"Wake _up_ Sweetness! We want you to dish about last night!" Toph had been considering a body slam, but settled for bouncing on the end of the mattress. She wasn't _always_ so abrasive, after all. Katara didn't even bother to protest as she sat up, her mind in a groggy haze. Suki brushed the woman's hair while she gave a slim account of last night.

"I danced with a bunch of guys, met a mysterious guy on a balcony, and danced with him the rest of the night."

"A mystery man, huh? What's so mysterious about him?" The Kyoshi asked.

"His mask was hideous, for one, and he wasn't like the rest of the guys I danced with. We were talking so much we didn't even know the last dance had come until they announced it..."

"Aww!" Suki hugged Katara from behind. "That's so cute! I think he likes you! What's his name?"

"Lee. He said he was a Fire Nation soldier, but he switched sides before the end of the war." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not entirely sure I believe his story. Probably just wanted to make a good impression."

"I think you're just being paranoid!" The other woman replied in a singsong voice as she continued brushing.

"So where did you disappear to, Toph?" Katara said, effectively drawing the conversation away from her towards to quiet earthbender.

"Basically the same thing as you, Sugar Queen, minus the mysterious romance. My feet didn't like all those people tramping around so I left early." She shrugged. "Did anyone ever see the real Sparky?"

"I saw some guys that might have been him, but the scar was missing," Suki said thoughtfully as she began braiding Katara's hair. The latter shook her head; she hadn't seen him either.

"Maybe he didn't really go," the waterbender joked. "Now, what should we do today?"

"I was thinking some training. I'm _so_ out of practice!" The auburn-haired warrior sighed dramatically as she tied off the braid.

"Yeah, I haven't whupped Katara's butt in a while," Toph grinned evilly as she cracked her knuckles.

"Probably because I've beaten you every time," Katara returned in the spirit of a good challenge.

"Hey, I call first round!" Suki interjected as they all stood. Katara threw on some clothes, they might've been from a couple days ago, and they all headed out into an open courtyard.

"Alright Katara, bring it!" The woman warrior had taken her fighting stance, and her opponent followed suit.

"Consider it brought," she called, and gathered water from the water pouch at her hip.

**A/N: Aha! So what did you think, now that Zuko has acknowledged his feelings a bit? The second night of the masquerade will be in the next chapter after the training, so stay tuned! Please review, I live on them! :'D **


	6. Decisions

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews~! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I've been helping out at Bible School this past week. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, don't be afraid to tell me what you think! Please R&R! :)**

**moonwillow: Thanks! I hope you're okay with what happens in this chapter then! ^^;**

**FloraIrmaTylee: Yes, drunk!Katara may have to make another appearance because she was hilarious to write. :)**

**ItsAllLovely: Thanks so much! I hope this chapter is in character enough, I have a feeling it's a bit off. **

**Azzy97: Of course it's emotion-packed, it's Zutara! ;)**

* * *

Sokka was taking a pleasant stroll down the corridor towards the palace's well-stocked kitchen when suddenly, the ground shook under his feet. He stumbled and caught himself on the wall, and he cursed his luck. Why did something have to happen when he was _so close_ to the kitchen? He leaned his back on the wall and ticked off the possible situations.

One: earthquake.

Two: traces of Ozai supporters attacking the palace.

Three: Toph was earthbending.

The second choice was unlikely, but the tribesman had learned not to count out the seemingly impossible. Sokka had only heard about earthquakes, and what he had heard said that the tremors usually lasted longer. Therefore, logic dictated that Toph must be bending, but that begged the question: why?

The man longed for the salty goodness of meat that was surely awaiting him, but maybe Toph could tell him where Suki had disappeared to. Really, it came down to a choice: meat or Suki? He was still pondering the perks and flaws when Zuko skidded into the hallway at high speed.

"What was that?" The Fire Lord demanded, puffing with the exertion of sprinting.

"I don't know, but I think - "

Zuko continued down the hall at his former pace, but now with a touch of graceful caution as he peeked around the next corner before disappearing into it. Sokka sighed dramatically before following, his pace sluggish in comparison.

The Fire Lord followed the sound of a triumphant cry, praying to Agni that it was only Toph messing around. He couldn't help but feel relieved when he slid open the door to one of the larger courtyards. Toph and Katara were at opposite ends, effectively blocking the others attacks in a back-and-forth match. Suki was sitting on the sidelines, nursing a newly healed bruise the size of a mango on her exposed thigh.

Just as Sokka joined him in the doorway, the earthbender launched an uppercut of stone at her opponent, and Katara tripped backwards over a strategically placed rock. Toph proceeded to bend the earth over the waterbender's ankles and wrists, and strutted over to her victoriously.

"Look who kicked whose butt today!" She crowed, prodding her victim's leg with a bare foot. "It's okay, you got beaten by the best earthbender ever. It was only expected," she grinned a cheeky grin before releasing the earthen shackles.

"I'll get you next time," Katara reassured her determinedly, brushing the dust off of her clothes upon standing.

"Is it safe to approach?" Sokka called from the door way, his manner joking. He covered his head as if rocks would begin falling from the sky. Suki made an exclamation of joyful surprise before motioning the two men to join them. Sokka was by his fiancé's side in a heartbeat, scooping her up in his arms and making a fuss over her bruise, much to her amusement.

Zuko followed more slowly. He now felt an inner awkwardness about his feelings for Katara and the other Water Tribe woman. The problematic feelings spiked when she flashed him a quick smile. _Keep it cool, Zuko._

"So, how did your night go?" He asked the waterbender, his tone conversational as she began re-braiding her hair.

"Oh, she met a _mystery man_ named Lee," Toph laughed, which earned her a frown from the other woman. "One with a mask as ugly as sin. What color did you say it was?"

"Blue and white."

"Yeah, and then they danced the night away, blah blah blah," she waved her hand as if the rest were unimportant details.

As the conversation had progressed, Zuko thought his heart had stopped. Katara had danced with a man. A man they were describing as him, with his fake name. Maybe it was a joke, or a coincidence, but they appeared sincere.

Toph shot the Fire Lord a strange look before staring at the ground, brows furrowed. It didn't take her long to puzzle out his erratic heartbeat, though, and soon her face showed quiet amusement.

"Who did you dance with, Sparky?"

"Uninteresting women," he lied with a shrug. "But I've got four more nights to get acquainted with an interesting one. Your mystery man - uh - sounds like a nice guy." Zuko aimed the last part in Katara's direction, trying to tout his disguised self without being caught.

"I don't really know much about his personality, but maybe I'll find him again tonight." She shrugged, but her eyes sparked with interest.

"Hey, most of us haven't had breakfast yet, so continue your conversation on the go," Sokka complained, pushing his sister toward the doorway he had just come out of. Katara rolled her eyes and sidestepped, causing her brother to fall forward with his momentum. He caught himself and sprung to his feet, but his sister walked by him as if nothing happened. Suki laughed behind her hand while explaining what had happened to Toph, who was making no effort to hide her amusement.

"I thought you were hungry, Sokka?" His sister asked from her position ahead of him, hands on her hips as if _he_ had been the one messing around. He spluttered wordlessly before giving in to grumbling and falling in with Suki as they all walked down the hall. Line Leader Katara stood at a fork in the hallway, unsure which way the kitchen was.

"Left. Don't you know where you're going?" Zuko asked as he wound his way through the rest of the group, now walking even with her.

"Just because I'm leading doesn't mean I know where I'm going," she muttered, her tone almost pouty. She glanced at him sideways, as if challenging him to say something else. He only smirked as they came to another split, and she started to go left again, but he cleared his throat loudly and cocked his head to the right. Katara reversed her direction and strode down the hall he had indicated. Now he had to take slightly larger steps to keep up, and soon they were much farther ahead of everyone else.

"Alright, we've lost them. Now you can kill me without any witnesses," Zuko frowned. What was she trying to prove? She rounded on him suddenly, and he nearly ran into her. Katara's brow knitted and her eyes accusatory as she stared up at him. "What? What have I done now?" Exasperation was beginning to creep into his voice. She had no reason to look at him like that!

"I _saw_ your reaction about the "mystery guy". You know who he is!" Katara's eyes narrowed, but he refused to give in.

"No, I don't know him. He sounds like a lesser noble, so why should I," he challenged. He would _not_ let her get the best of him now.

"Then why did you stiffen?" She hissed, standing on her toes to look him directly in the eye. Their proximity was close, but only Zuko seemed to be aware of it. Their eyes clashed, a silent contest of the elements.

He stared hard at her, trying to dismiss the delicate curl of her eyelashes, or the scent of her hair. Even the tiny pants brought on by the brisk pace, as they ghosted over his skin, became a distraction. Zuko leaned in and put his hands on her shoulders in one motion.

"He sounds familiar, that's all," he whispered into Katara's ear. She tilted her head ever so slightly in reaction to the sensation of his breath. It stirred memories of Aang, how they used to tease each other and play the game of seeing who would give in first for a kiss.

It made her think how long it had been since she had been so close to someone, which led to the thought: How long had it been for Zuko? Since Mai? Had there been other romances?

While she had been pondering, he had resumed his original position. An amused smirk had replaced the former contortion of frustration, and all Katara could think of was wiping that smirk right off his royal face. So, she did what would surprise him the most.

She kissed him.

It wasn't like any kiss she had shared with Aang. Maybe because back then, she had been doing it out of affection. This was pure revenge. The kiss was rough and contentious. It was out of habit that she closed her eyes, and she opened them when she pulled away. Her face was triumphant as she lowered herself to the ground, because Zuko's face was everything she had expected: confused, angry, and most of all, startled.

"What was that for!" He demanded. What was she doing, what game was she playing? How dare she! "You can't get what you want, so you do something stupid? You're acting like a child!" It had been a long time since he let his temper get the better of him like this. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was thinking back to his sixteen-year-old self.

At first, Katara shrank away from him. She hadn't seen Zuko lose it like this in a while, maybe she had gone too far. But being called a child had fed the dying coals of her anger, and she jutted her chin out stubbornly.

"At least I can take a joke! It was just a stupid kiss," she defended.

_A stupid kiss._

Wishing he had robes to flourish, Zuko stalked back the way they had just come.

"Hey Zuk - oookay, see ya later," Sokka said as the Fire Lord passed them. "What's with him?"

"I don't know, ask Katara?" Suki suggested as they caught up to the young woman. She was fuming too, and when her brother repeated his question, she replied:

"Some people just can't take a joke."

* * *

Meanwhile, Zuko was pacing circles in some old, unused room. He didn't know its purpose, and right now he didn't care. He wasn't sure if his temper was feeding his temperature, or visa versa, but he wasn't cooling down any time soon. Kicking out at a low table, he sent it crashing into the wall. Flames flickered at his heels, but he was careful enough to not set it on fire.

'_Wouldn't want the whole palace to burn down,'_ he thought bitterly, clasping his hands behind his back. He stood utterly still now, allowing the darkness of the room to envelop him as he thought.

She had kissed him. _She had kissed him._

What had possessed her to do it? The heat of the moment? Or perhaps just insanity? Maybe she just missed the intimacy a kiss could bring. But no, the kiss had been nothing romantic. He doubted Katara had ever been so rough with the Avatar. Thinking of them together made his blood boil, now, but surely Fire Lord Zuko wasn't jealous.

The kiss had not been as he would've expected, but then again, he hadn't instigated it. Her lips had been chapped and unyielding, not passionate and soft like he had occasionally imagined. Besides, how could he _really_ kiss her if he couldn't get around to flirting? Or even make an attempt to hold her hand? He groaned aloud at the thought. How was he supposed to make a tentative move on her if she thought that kiss had been a joke? His bottom hit the floor with a solid _thunk_ as he sat with his head in his hands. What was he supposed to do?

As if by divine intervention, a sudden thought came into his mind - the masquerade! She still didn't know he was Lee! Hope filled him as if he was a hot air balloon, and he rose with it as suddenly as he had sat. He could still try to win her over, if not as Fire Lord Zuko, then as Lesser Nobleman Lee.

He felt himself grinning like a fool, but it didn't matter if no one was around to see. With renewed vigor, he flung aside the door on his way out of the room with so much gusto it scared the nearby servant.

Taking a quick inventory of his location, he set off to find his mother. Most likely, she would be in her private quarters seeing to some business he should actually be handling. The shame he felt for putting the work onto his mother was small in comparison to his excitement, though.

"Mother, I have reached a decision," he declared dramatically upon bursting through the door. He had already been through the motion and had failed to find her at least twice.

"Yes, Zuko?" She asked calmly, glancing up from a scroll. "Hm, I expected you with a cloak. I know you love being dramatic," she mused with a small smile.

"I have decided to romantically pursue Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," he said seriously, overlooking his mother's amusement.

"This is a rash decision." Her face was no longer alight, but shadowing over as she spoke. "Only this morning you were balking at the thought of marriage. Now you want to formally pursue her?"

"Yes. But as Lee, the disguise she is taken with," he replied stubbornly. Ursa shook her head slowly.

"No, this isn't a good idea Zuko. I was hesitant to accept your decoy plan from the start. What happens when she finds out the man courting her is not who he claims to be?" His mother could see the determination in his eyes, and she knew he wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"It will work, mother. You'll see," he replied quietly before turning on his heel and making his exit. She sighed and rested her cheek against her hand. To be young and full of passionate feelings was one thing, but to act on them was another.

"If she is as you say, this will not end well." She spoke to herself quietly. Maybe it was time to summon Iroh. He would be reluctant to leave his tea shop in Ba Sing Se, but if it was for Zuko, he would do anything.

* * *

'_Alright, that just happened.'_

Finding Sokka banned from the kitchen, the foursome decided to get back to sparring. Katara stared down at her fingers, choosing not to indulge in any more sessions. She sat on the sidelines as Suki jabbed at her betrothed with swift fists, while he dodged continually.

"Come on Sokka, is that the best you've got?" The Kyoshi joked. "Fight me like a real warrior!"

The two exchanged dialogue back and forth in that manner, with Toph interjecting her insight. "Go for the throat!" or "Kick his knees!" was not uncommon. However, Katara was not present, mentally speaking. She was still thinking about what she had done.

'_He's never going to forgive that,'_ she thought grimly. He probably thought she had gone off the deep end. Maybe she had. Something had possessed her to make that contact, and she wasn't sure what it had been. Okay, that wasn't entirely true, but she had been so riled up that logic had been thrown to the wind.

She pondered if he'd buy that explanation, and admitted that an apology was definitely in order. Katara wasn't about to acknowledge what she had done in front of the rest of the gang, though, so she would need to corner him later. Yes, perhaps that was feasible.

Pushing that to a back burner, she let her mind wander to the kiss. It hadn't meant anything, really, but she was a stickler for detail. Most prominent in her memory was the softness of his lips, which had seemed to comply to her. This she over looked hurriedly, probably just her imagination, and considered his golden eyes. They had been molten, despite the indoor lighting, as he was caught in the momentary shock. She attributed his normally pale skin being flushed to their argument.

'_I do have the tendency to push his buttons,' _she thought sheepishly. _'I'm sure he's cooled down by now.'_

"I'm going back inside," Katara announced as she stood, brushing the light dusting from her clothes. The others barely halted their occupations to bid her farewell before she closed the door behind her.

She hoped to find him wandering in the halls before she came upon her room, but she had no such luck. Deciding she didn't feel like getting lost at the moment, she continued on into her room. Maybe she _should_ go looking for him. That was her whole reason for coming inside, wasn't it? She laid down on her bed anyway, and stared at the ceiling to think.

The idea of trying to explain herself to him was very unappealing. Apologizing was like saying you were wrong, and Katara did _not_ like to be wrong. The funny thing was that she had been wrong. Very wrong.

Ever since Toph's claim of Zuko's affections for the waterbender, Katara lingered on thoughts of - dare she think it? - _kissing_ the Fire Lord. They were only daydreams, and each kiss was never the same. They were more passionate than not, though she had little experience to draw on. Kisses with Aang had been soft and innocent; she doubted that _any_ firebender would kiss like that.

Which reminded her - what about Lee? She would probably have more of a chance with Lee than with Zuko, no matter what Toph had said. The weirdness between their group of friends would be overwhelming if she started seeing Zuko, anyway. That was simple logic. Plus, he was looking for a bride, not a girlfriend. Marriage was starting to sound appealing at this stage in her life, but being the Fire Lady had all sorts of extra responsibilities she didn't want to consider.

'_Lee it is, then.'_ Her inner voice couldn't help but sound resigned. After all, she didn't even know what he looked like! All this thinking of kisses had her wondering how her mystery man kissed.

'_Maybe I'll find out tonight.'_ She giggled at her boldness, but maybe this was a chance worth taking. Just because her long-time boyfriend ended their relationship didn't mean Katara had to be miserable and alone for the rest of her life. She _deserved_ to have fun. Or so Suki said. Then again, Suki probably knew what she was talking about, since she had had more boyfriends.

Having woken up earlier than preferred this morning, she let herself drift into sleep. After all, a girl needed to be rested for a full night of dancing if they carried on like the night before.

* * *

Zuko needed a plan.

Now that he knew what he was up against, it should have been easier. Too bad things never worked out that way.

He had taken to wandering the halls to avoid pacing in his room. What he needed more often than not was fresh air and plenty of space to think. He didn't want to run into his friends, though, so he avoided the gardens. They were likely outside anyway, it was another beautiful day in the Fire Nation.

Zuko sighed as he came to a dead end. Instead of turning around, he stared at the dark wall in front of him.

'_I know what she likes, and what she doesn't. I know exactly the right thing to say in conversation. Why isn't this easy?'_ He thought. Maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

'_Maybe I'm just a coward.'_

The thought was bitter in his mind.

He considered backing out of his courting decision, but then thought over why he had chosen this course of action in the first place.

Katara was strong. She was beautiful, kind, and a great bender, but most importantly she was strong. Strong in spirit, mind, and body. The Fire Nation could use a Fire Lady like that. They needed a strong leading family to continue into times of peace and recovery from the war. It was only a bonus that he was attracted to her. Of course.

This gave him hope for the cause, and he retraced his steps with a lighter tread. He hesitated when he passed the door to Katara's room. There were no tell-tale noises of company, and he reasoned she was probably with the others. What would be the harm of taking a peek? A voice in the back of his head called him a pervert, but it was with sheer curiosity that he eased the door open as quietly as he could.

The adrenaline pulsed through his body; what would happen if he was caught? He hadn't felt this way since the war, because obviously Fire Lords had better things to do than be ninjas, and he liked it. He had just closed the door behind him when he caught the sound of a soft snore. Zuko froze, letting his eyes adjust before he could make out the silhouette of Katara's sleeping form.

He dodged the dirty clothes carelessly strewn across the floor as he made his way to her bed. He stood over the young woman curled up facing away from him, her hair around her in a halo. The sliver of daylight streaming in from the curtains drew a line down her arm, extending to her hips. She stirred gently, burrowing further into her pillow.

'_She's adorable,'_ he thought, hand ghosting over the ends of her hair. Her face slid into an expression of contentment, a small smile playing on her lips. A lump formed in Zuko's throat, and he prayed to Agni she was thinking about him.

The thought struck him again about being a pervert, and this time he gave it a little more consideration. He was, after all, watching this woman sleep. What was he, a stalker? He tore his eyes away from her and retreated swiftly, striding down the hall before he knew it. What was that woman _doing _to him?

* * *

Katara had only slept for a couple of hours or so, and she decided to pick over her clothes before boredom consumed her. She wanted to wear something stunning tonight, in order to further entice Lee.

Blue was a main staple in her wardrobe, and she refused to wear Fire Nation colors because that's just not who she was. She wanted something similar to the cheongsam she had worn last night, and if she remembered correctly...aha!

With a triumphant grin, Katara withdrew her quarry from the wardrobe. Holding the cheongsam in front of her, she turned one way and then the other before deciding to try it on.

As she gazed into the full length mirror, the waterbender was pleased that it looked as she remembered. Sleeveless with a mandarin collar and a water-drop-shaped cutout in the middle of her chest, the dress came to her knees this time. The slits on the side were still at her mid-thigh, she noted as her inspection continued, and the dark blue material complemented her dark skin wonderfully.

Satisfied with her decision, she changed into something more casual before a servant arrived to escort her to dinner. The meal was held earlier than usual, to accommodate the masquerade. The food was simple, since the staff needed to concentrate on the large buffet for tonight.

Katara was relieved that she wasn't the last to arrive, but it was short lived as she remembered she sat next to Zuko. Darting a quick glance at Sokka and Suki, they seemed engaged in a deep conversation, she turned to the Fire Lord.

"Hey, um, sorry about earlier." Every word that admitted she was wrong was like pulling teeth, but it needed to be done. "I guess I just wanted to get a rise out of you. Stupid, huh?" She gave a weak laugh, but his face remained unreadable as he looked at her.

"It's fine," he rasped after a moment of silence. He didn't _look_ like it was fine, though, and she frowned at him as if to say so. A light in his eyes flickered for a moment, but was gone before she could blink. Something was going on in his head, and she was just about to ask when Toph entered, rubbing her stomach and demanding food. Everyone laughed, and dinner was served.

Katara and Zuko avoided each other as much as humanly possible during the meal, both rather quiet. Nobody minded, because Sokka kept up a rousing conversation about penguin sledding.

"Sounds like I'll have to go some time," Zuko commented. He was increasingly interested in the fact that an animal could be persuaded into letting you slide down a hill on it's back.

"Oh yeah, we should all go!" Sokka exclaimed. "We should all vacation in the South Pole - maybe after the wedding?" He looked around for reactions, and only Toph showed any inhibitions.

"It's hard enough to see in that wasteland, but you want me to trust my life to a _penguin?"_ Was her response. "I think I'll pass."

When everyone had finished, only an hour and a half remained to prepare for the masquerade. Toph joined Katara in her room, and the waterbender pinned the younger's hair up in a more modern style. The earthbender's dress was practically the same, the only thing changing was the outer gown.

"I'm going to have to make a real effort to find a suitor," Toph sighed heavily, touching lightly at her hair as Katara coiled her own long braid into a high bun.

"Well, you don't have to find one here," the elder pointed out, effectively pinning her hair in place. "Besides, I'm sure your parents will want you to be with an Earth Kingdom guy." She smoothed her dress and was about to ask Toph how she looked, but caught herself in time.

"Come on, or we'll be late," the younger mumbled, shuffling her feet reluctantly towards the door. "Wouldn't want to disappoint your mystery man."

"Oh, hush," Katara blushed as she shut the door behind her. Before she knew it, they were once again at the entrance to the large hall. The crowd was smaller this time, but that was because they were relatively on time. The music had yet to begin, and people were milling about and making polite conversation.

Katara tried not to appear as if she was looking for anyone, but the fact that she had inched herself onto her toes to give her extra height made it pretty obvious. The two parted ways when Toph could hear Suki, and the Water Tribe woman was beginning to think that Lee didn't want to dance with her. Or maybe he wasn't there yet.

The musicians were picking up their instruments when Katara felt a tap on her shoulder. She was about to politely decline the young man, but when she turned around it was Lee's mask she was staring at. A tiny "oh!" of surprise escaped her lips as he took her hand and bowed formally.

"My Lady, if I may have this dance?" His lips twitched into a brief smile as she nodded vigorously, and that's when their second night of dancing began.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! So what do you think, now that Zuko knows his mystery woman is Katara? And he's planning on courting her? Whaaat? And how about that kiss? I swear, they must both be crazy. Their night together will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned! **


	7. Zuko's Revelation

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm pretty proud to say that this is the longest chapter I've written! Huzzah! It's jam-packed with some juicy bits, so I hope you all like it! I forgot to mention this in my last update, but what did you guys think of the Korra season finale? **

**SPOILER: I'm a Makorra shipper myself, but that ending...blah. Suddenly they're all "omgz I luv u!" But whatever. I ship Irosami now. Because seriously, Iroh II is the shmex. He must get it from his good looking grandfather. ;D**

**/END SPOILER**

**So how many of you are participating in Zutara Week? July 15th to the 21st! I'll be supporting my OTP via my deviantART account (tori-oislove). If you plan on getting in on it, good luck!**

** Now, enjoy the story! :)**

* * *

"My Lady, it seems that we shall be dancing the whole night once more."

"Lee, you don't have to keep calling me that. I'm not any sort of royalty," Katara admitted.

"What should I call you, if you won't tell me your name?" Zuko murmured as the dance commanded them closer.

"If I tell you my name, will you promise not to freak out?"

"Of course."

"It's Katara," she whispered, and he trailed his fingers down her bare forearm as they sidestepped away from each other. His touch drew goosebumps, and she wondered what he would say.

"_The_ Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe?" He asked quietly as they came back together. She couldn't discern anything by his voice, and most of his face was covered by his mask. Katara could only nod mutely, which was met with a surprised "oh!". Well, Zuko hoped it sounded surprised.

"It's very nice to meet you, but I don't think I'm worth your time," he replied, sounding disappointed. It wasn't a lie, either. Katara deserved the best, and that definitely wasn't him. "I'm sure you would like to dance with someone else..."

"No!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hand possessively as he started to draw away. "I'm dancing with you because I want to dance with _you_, not with those egotistical jerks."

"Good, because I had intended on monopolizing you all night," and he suddenly snapped back into his good mood. Katara arched her brow, her interest piqued.

"Oh _really?"_

"Well, yes, if you don't mind."

"Like I said, I don't enjoy the company of egotistical jerks," she replied lightly, and he twirled her away with an extended arm. She spun back to him, her body curled into the same arm that discarded her. Katara's back was pressed against his chest when she came to a stop. Now they stepped in a simple circle, and he leaned in to whisper into her ear:

"What about Fire Lord Zuko? I hear he's not so bad."

Katara could've snorted in laughter, but she didn't want to break the mood. The way their bodies teased at each other, the warmth of his arms encircling her, and now the tickle of his warm breath on the shell of her ear; it was all very..._sensual_. An excited shiver ran through her at the thought.

"He's not so bad, but I doubt he's as good as you," she replied in hushed tones, turning her head ever so slightly so that she could barely see his mask in her peripheral view. It was short lived, however, because the music cued him to unwind his arms and allow them to come face to face. Or rather, mask to mask.

"I'm sure you hear this a lot, but you're a wonderful dancer," Zuko smiled down at Katara, his voice pitched lower under the guise of Lee. She returned it with a grin and the slightest shrug of her shoulders as if to say, "perhaps." He gently squeezed her hand as they glided among the other guests. This earned a blush from his partner, but the smile stayed in place. They bowed to each other as the song ended, and joined as the next began.

"Ah, I love the passion of the Fire Nation songs," he enthused upon recognition of the song, a moderately paced tune with hints of seduction from a stringed instrument.

"I like to try to match up the songs and the movements with their place of origin," she confessed as he drew her close, his right hand placed on her hip and his other extended to his left while holding her right hand. Their extended arms acted like a guiding point on a compass as he led her parallel with the other dancing pairs.

"Earth Kingdom dances are solid and the music has a definite beat. Water Tribe tells the history of my people and illustrates the fluidity of water. Fire Nation music is subtle but the dances are always...sultry." They word she had been thinking was erotic, but that really didn't seem appropriate. "And the Air Nomads..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of Aang teaching her the dances of his people, how they were so light and carefree with their movements.

"...breezy." Zuko finished the sentence for her, and she nodded vaguely. They switched arms when the time came to face the other direction, and it wasn't long before Katara's inattention caused her to step on her partner's foot. He flinched, not because it had hurt, but because it was unexpected. Her apologies were profuse, and she promised to pay closer attention.

"It's not a problem," he reassured her. The Fire Lord knew her sensitivity towards Aang, but _Lee_ didn't. "Just don't make a habit out of it," he joked before he dipped her, muscles strained to hold her weight as she tipped her head back. Her neck was elongated and vulnerable to him, and the way her back arched was distinctly sexual.

Zuko frantically tried to think of something less stimulating, like an ice cold bath. The North Pole. Sitting in a bank of snow. If he hadn't pulled her up just then and seen her face, he might have reached a level of self-control that would have lasted the whole night.

Katara's face was radiant in the warm light, her dark skin making her look like the bronze statue of a goddess. Their proximity was close enough for him to see how her blue eyes shone behind her mask, and he wondered what she was thinking at that very moment. It was her lips that sealed his fate.

They appeared soft now, as opposed to their earlier chapped kiss, and a thought that she must have applied something girly to them floated through his head. They gleamed in the light, as if she had just taken a drink and wetted her lips. An image flashed unbidden into his mind: Katara's lips on his own, on his chest, his stomach, his -

'_Oh, dear Agni!'_

He wanted to run far, far away from this enchanting woman before him. He was terrified at what he might do if she pressed up against him again. Zuko wanted to take this slow, and Katara needed him to. No rushing. The firebender was determined to win her over, and not just be a rebound relationship. Lucky for him, the dance ended while their bodies were separated.

"Well, then, would you accompany me outside? I'm feeling a little claustrophobic." He pulled at his high collar for illustration. Katara agreed while fanning herself with the hand that wasn't holding his, and they disappeared to the balcony where they had met the night before. He still kept her hand in his, but she didn't pull away.

"I feel like I've known you for years, Lee," she sighed into the cool evening air. "And the fact that you didn't start worshipping me when you knew who I was is refreshing." Her gentle laughter was joined by his low chuckle, and she leaned into him unconsciously. He stepped back, not only because he didn't want her to feel the way his body was reacting to their last dance, but also because there was something that needed to be dealt with.

"Aren't you the Avatar's girl?" He asked as he dropped her hand. Zuko could imagine the hurt in her eyes as she looked out over the garden.

"Not any more." Her voice was low and thick, and he prayed she wouldn't cry.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean - " It was with a tentative hand that he reached out to her, unsure of what to do now. It was as awkward as he had imagined.

"No, it's fine." With every second, she withdrew into herself further. "I don't feel much like dancing any more. I-I think I'll turn in early tonight," she said as she backed towards the door.

"Please, Katara, I'm so sorry," Zuko begged. "At least let me walk you to wherever you're staying?" The waterbender didn't want anymore of the masquerade tonight or anything that reminded her of it, especially Lee. There was something in his pleading voice that tugged at her already wounded heartstrings, and he allowed her to lead him out of the grand hall and through the hallways to her door. They walked on in silence, but his strong presence was having a calming effect on her. He halted only when she did, and his flame flickered to life in the palm of his hand.

"Please, allow me to make it up to you tomorrow night." Zuko's voice was low with a touch of urgency; he wasn't about to let her get away from him. "Let me make you happy."

Katara tugged the ribbon loose that held on her mask, and she caught the adornment before it could fall to the ground. She heard Lee's sharp intake of breath as he caught sight of her face, and his heart might have stopped when she placed a delicate hand on his chest.

Zuko could see that her eyes were hurt and confused, still thinking about Aang and wanting to move on at the same time was his best guess. With hesitant movements, she tilted her head to him in a supplicatory manner. Before he could register what she wanted, she was kissing him for the second time that day.

Her lips were questioning and unsure as they ghosted over his, her breath light and airy. He returned her questions with quiet strength and reassurance, slowly folding her into his arms. The Fire Lord was afraid that if he moved too quickly, she would disappear like smoke. This was the more like the kiss he had imagined, but it lacked her usual spitfire attitude.

Unwillingly, he broke the kiss. She needed to know she could trust him to be a perfect gentleman, and he stepped back to survey her face. Katara looked more confused than before as she frantically looked into the gruesome mask for any sign of emotion.

"Your emotions are conflicted. I don't want you to feel pressured into something you'll later regret. Until tomorrow night, Lady Katara," he bowed before making a slow retreat. When he thought he was far enough so slip away unseen, he darted to his chambers. If he had interpreted her face correctly, she'd relapse into her former habit of crying. She needed a friend to comfort her, and Zuko took it upon himself to do the job. After all, it was his fault.

When he arrived at his room, he threw his mask onto the bed and changed into some different party clothes before taking the quickest route back to the waterbender's room. He stopped to catch his breath before striding the rest of the way and rapping on her door, which halted her soft sobs.

"Katara? I saw you leave with some guy, are you okay?" Silence greeted him, so he tried a different approach. "Katara, I heard you crying. If you don't want me to bring Sokka, you should open the door." A moment hardly passed before he heard her hurried scuffling and she cracked the door. He pushed against it, testing how far she would let him in, and was surprised that she yielded completely.

He could still distinguish tracks from her tears and her eyes were bright and puffy. Zuko collected her into a strictly platonic hug before he even thought about it, and she encouraged it by wrapping her arms around his chest. Katara buried her head into his robes, seeking comfort in the familiarity of him while he stroked tentatively at her hair. It was nice to just linger in the moment, but Katara needed a serious pep talk right now so he ushered her into the room before closing the door. The bed was the only place to sit, so he guided her to the mattress where she allowed herself to plop down carelessly. He sat beside her with more self-control, and he resumed his questioning.

"Are you okay?" He repeated as she studied the floor, which had suddenly become more interesting. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I-I kissed h-him," she hiccuped, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she replayed the scene in her mind.

"Hey, hey, settle down. You're going to hyperventilate and pass out. Don't pass out on me, okay?" She nodded and she tried her best to calm down. After a few minutes she was able to continue.

"We were talking about A-Aang and I wanted to go back and he walked me here and I j-just want to move on with m-my life!" The words tumbled out of her mouth in such a rush he could hardly understand, and now she was getting teary just thinking about Aang.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to move on. You're not a bad person," Zuko reassured her. Apparently this was the right thing to say, because she nodded her head in acceptance and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"Do you t-think I scared him off?" Her quiet voice was strained.

"I think he'll come back, as long as you didn't threaten his life. Even if you did, I'm sure he couldn't stay away for long," the firebender teased gently, but he was taken back to the time when he had joined them in the Western Air Temple. He would never forget the deathly serious expression she wore then, but apparently it hadn't done anything to deter him in the present. She erupted in a fit of coughing laughter, but surely she didn't know what he had meant.

"You really know how to cheer a girl up, Zuko," she joked, but her tone was dry and tired. At least she wasn't crying any more.

It was hard to tell how long they sat in that easy silence before the Fire Lord found himself nodding off. A glance at Katara showed that she was already sleeping, but when he tried to lay her down she clutched at his waist.

"Please stay, I get such terrible nightmares," she whispered so softly he thought he had imagined it. Her desperate grip on his clothes told him it had been real, though, and he leaned his back against the wall. He would stay until she was deep asleep, and then make his escape. That was the plan until she settled her head into his lap, her face turned away from him.

Zuko distracted himself from a potentially embarrassing situation by removing the pins from her hair and unbraiding it. He ran his pale fingers through her dark hair, gently working out the occasional knot when he came across it.

'_I just want to take all of your pain away,'_ he thought sadly as he used his firebending to extinguish the lanterns. Nobody close to him should hurt if he could help it. He closed his eyes to the darkness and he let her slow breathing lull him to sleep.

* * *

Though Zuko could not see the sun, it still beckoned to him when it began it's journey over the horizon. The first sensation to come over him was pain: why did his back hurt? And his neck? He felt hardness under him - no - _behind _him, and his eyes flew open. Where in the name of the Spirit World was he?

Summoning a weak flame to his hand, he catalogued his surroundings. He appeared to still be in the palace, so he hadn't been abducted. Always a good thing. Balling his hand into a fist effectively dispersed the flame, and he thought back to last night. He had been with Katara as Lee, and then...

The memory of the night flooded into him as soon as Katara decided to clutch at the fabric over his knee. She was still laying just as he remembered, if not a little mussed by sleep. Tiredness had overcome her before she considered changing out of her dress last night, and Zuko didn't miss how the hem was bunched just below her bottom.

It was then that he started to panic.

He tried to slide out from under her slowly, and replace his lap with a pillow, but she gave a soft whine of protest and clung to his pants. He could've just taken off his pants, but it didn't take a genius to know that was a bad idea the way things were - uh - developing. Besides, if he just left his pants in her room, there would be a lot of awkward questions and a furious Katara to deal with.

Zuko pried her fingers off of his pants and convinced them to latch onto the pillow case. The switch went better this time, and he was stretching beside the bed before long. One thing was for sure: he would _never_ sleep like that again. With his hand at the door he took one backward glance, saw her sleeping peacefully, and closed it quietly behind him.

The young Fire Lord longed for the soft embrace of his own bed, but going back to sleep at this point would be nearing impossible. Changing into something more casual was a must, though he had already wrinkled the silk into ruin. He could already hear the reprimand from his mother, but it had been worth it. His friendship with Katara came before any other feelings he might harbor for her. It escaped Zuko, though, as to why she thought he could chase her nightmares away. Maybe she had terrors of Azula's lightning, too.

The lightning._.._why _had _he taken it for her? He sighed as he threw the crumpled silks into a heap upon arriving in his room, and tugged on a pair of loose trousers. No point in soiling a perfectly clean shirt with the sweat he was sure to work up in practice this morning.

Forcibly locking away thoughts of Katara, he took the usual route to the courtyard. He needed to focus on his form, now, and couldn't bear to be distracted by thoughts of her. Already he was beginning to breathe deeply; in through his nose, out through his mouth. Zuko's mind was focused by the time he stepped into the warmth of the rising sun, and he was not alone.

The man seated in the center of the courtyard was familiar to him. How could he not be? Uncle Iroh was more of a father to him than Ozai had been. The old man's back was turned to Zuko, but the Fire Lord would be foolish to think he didn't know of his presence.

"Good morning, Uncle," he greeted, sitting down into the same cross-legged fashion next to Iroh. The elder inclined his head to acknowledge his nephew's presence, but otherwise gave no sign of breaking his meditation, his eyes still closed in calm thought. Zuko followed the example, and closed his eyes. The sun had doubled its height when Iroh broke the silence.

"Your mother is troubled by your decision." His voice rumbled deep in his chest as he spoke, and he stared ahead at the far end of the open space. The younger man watched his uncle from the corner of his eye, but he was as solid as a stone.

"She thinks I have made an error in my judgement, doesn't she," he replied. How could he have chosen better than Katara? Yes, the path would be difficult, but that made the destination all the more worth his effort.

"Not an error in who, but in how you are going about it." Iroh sighed before turning his head to take in his companion. "And I agree with her. A lasting relationship needs to have a strong foundation of trust and truthfulness, not lies."

"I'm not lying to her," he countered fiercely, but he was still looking at the stone tiles. "I'm just showing her a different side of me without the situation being...weird." Zuko knew that his uncle was right, but the idea of lying to Katara was not a pleasant reality.

"She has the passion of a firebender, and the temper to match. Do you think she would calmly accept you after you reveal yourself to her?" Zuko didn't respond. He didn't have to, because they both knew who was right.

"What am I supposed to do, Uncle? She drives me insane," Zuko implored at last, and he faced the man beside him. Iroh took pity on his young nephew then, recognizing the emotions swirling in the Fire Lord's eyes.

"Tell her the truth as soon as you think you are safe from her wrath," he replied, stroking his beard sagely. Years of experience with the young man had showed Iroh that it was best for Zuko to puzzle out a solution for himself. Of course, sometimes it was necessary to nudge him in the right direction.

The young man sat in silence, letting the song of the cicadas reign supreme in the morning sounds. He could hear the muffled footsteps of servants inside as he pondered his uncle's advice. When an explanation was asked for, it was often more perplexing than the original guidance.

"She would make a lovely Fire Lady, if you could convince her," Iroh chuckled at last, hoisting himself to his feet. He looked every bit of his age, until he shrugged off his tunic. True, he was getting a bit saggy in the years after the war, but the former general was still unexpectedly muscular. He took his ready stance, as if it were obvious that they should spar now, and Zuko couldn't help but smile.

The Fire Lord was on his feet swiftly, hands poised and legs apart. Relief bloomed inside of him like a Fire Lily, not only because his uncle wasn't discouraging him from his romantic endeavor, but he also approved of his choice. Iroh crooked two of his fingers with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and the morning exercise began.

* * *

It didn't take a close friend of the Fire Lord's to know that he was happy. There was a definite spring in his step that even the most incompetent servant would notice. The younger staff women gossiped over what could have gotten into him while they scrubbed the laundry outside.

"Maybe the Harmony Restoration Movement is going particularly well as of late?"

"Of course it's because his uncle is visiting!"

"Maybe he just got new shoes?" The other women wore deadpan expressions and dismissed this idea immediately.

"No, I've got it! He's in _love!"_ A chorus of delighted and girlish squeals startled a nearby flock of birds into flight, but they were too busy latching onto that idea.

"I wonder if she's pretty?"

"They must have met at the masquerade!"

"Will she be the new Fire Lady?"

"She can't be any worse than Azula!" At the mention of the former princess, everyone gave an involuntary shudder.

"Well, it's about time he got married."

"You'd think he would have found a wife before now..."

"I bet he's just waiting for the right woman!"

"Oh, it's so _romantic,_" one particularly young woman sighed, which elicited a round of sighs from the others.

"You're not getting paid to sit around and sigh, so hop to it!" The Head Maidservant clapped her hands harshly when she happened upon the group, and hop they did.

"She's just an old maid, and doesn't know or care anything about love," one sniffed, and they all giggled as work resumed.

"I'll take these linens to the dining room," a young servingwoman named Yun announced after inspecting the clothes line and carefully folding the various napkins, tablecloths, and placemats. The women bid her goodbye and she set off with a full basket under her arm. She was about to begin humming as she made her way down one of the halls, but the Fire Lord and his uncle stepped out of Ursa's quarters and into the hallway. Yun, already near the wall, set her basket aside and bowed lowly on the floor as her post dictated.

"Yes, but she's still very upset," Zuko growled as he stalked in Yun's direction, Iroh keeping a calm pace beside him. "She had every right to be. But I don't know how to - "

"Zuko," the elder man warned. He had seen Yun, but Zuko was too deep in thought to notice.

"I don't know how to help her any more than I have. How do I even approach her with this? I know, I'll just waltz right up to her and say, 'Hey, I know you're still getting over Aang, but let's get married!' Yeah. I'm sure she'll _love _that," he snorted.

Yun was glad her forehead was touching the floor, because the Fire Lord would surely have seen that her eyes were as large as saucers. Now that they were passing the woman, the younger man realized his mistake. His pace stuttered, but there was nothing for it. He had already said enough, and trying to keep the servingwoman quiet would cause more gossip among them.

The two men resumed their pace in silence until they turned left, far down the hallway. Yun sat back on her heels, collecting herself before calmly placing the linens in their appropriate cabinet, and then returning to tell the other women not-so-calmly about what she had just witnessed.

* * *

"Soon everyone in the palace will know before Lady Katara does," Iroh mused, stroking his beard as they turned out of the hallway containing the servingwoman. Zuko brooded in silence as their pointed boots made soft scuffing noises as they continued to walked along the long runner.

"If you don't mind, Uncle, I'd like to take care of some things before lunch. I hope you will join us then," he said, making a slight bow when they came to a halt. Iroh chuckled, patted his belly, and said something along the lines of food and old age before continuing on. Zuko hadn't really heard, his mind was already elsewhere.

It was risky business, but he knew of only one person who claimed to be a ladies man. Heck, for all he knew, it was true. Sokka was smarter than most people gave him credit for.

'_As long as I don't say her name, it won't be awkward,'_ he told himself, trying to think of where to begin his search. Logic ultimately led him to the kitchens, and like clockwork the tribesman was there.

"Come onnn, just a little snack?" He whined, trying to peek over the head chef's broad shoulders from the doorway. Zuko had to stifle a sigh before putting on his most innocent face and tapping on Sokka's shoulder.

"Wha - oh! Hey, do you think you could get me past this guy?" He asked behind his hand, pointing a finger at the perturbed man.

"Uh, no, but I do have something to ask you." When Sokka started to protest, it was ridiculous that the chef would have more say than the Fire Lord, he added, "It's about a woman."

"Ooooh," the warrior's face was immediately drawn into a sly grin, his curiosity and flattered ego taking precedence over the urge to stuff his face.

"Yeah, so, let's go where no one can overhear." Zuko guided the darker-skinned man away from the prying eyes of the head chef, and his companion suggested that the 'man time' should be in the room he shared with Suki.

"Don't worry, her and the girls are doing...something girly," he assured, waving his had vaguely to further prove he had no idea of what they were doing, and didn't want to know.

"So, okay, what's your question?"

Zuko found himself sitting on the floor, his back to one of the twin beds. He was facing Sokka, who had his back to the adjacent bed. Seeing as Sokka and Suki were only engaged, it would be highly improper for them to share a bed. It did not escape the Fire Lord's attention, though, that there were small scuffs on the floor from where the two beds had been pushed together.

"Well...there's a girl I met, at the masquerade, and she's really...something," he sighed, but he tried to tone it down. Zuko would _never_ hear the end of it if Sokka knew he was a big softie.

"So what's the problem?"

"She just got out of a long and emotionally invested relationship..." Right now, he was praying to Agni that the other man was just as slow on the uptake as he had been in the past.

"I see," the other replied thoughtfully, scratching at some stubble on his chin as he studied the floor. "Do you know how long it's been?"

"A few months; she didn't really say."

"Well, I guess it just depends on the woman. What's she like?"

"She's driven. As fierce and stubborn as a tiger-dillo, but I'm sure there's a compassionate streak in there somewhere." Zuko hoped the stupid grin he expected wasn't plastered all over his face.

"Huh. Sounds like Fire Nation for sure," Sokka grunted. "I bet she's a real looker, too." His blue eyes narrowed and a mischievous attitude overcame his whole countenance.

"I - uh - I'm not entirely sure. You know, with mask and all." The firebender looked at the floor, rubbing his neck in his awkwardness. Somehow it didn't seem right to discuss how attractive he found the other man's baby sister.

"Uh-huh." Sokka rolled his eyes. "I have to warn you: most girls like to have a little rebound action before getting into anything more serious." A heavy silence descended onto the men before Zuko said:

"Sokka, I want to make her my wife. The mother of my people."

There. He had just said he wanted to commit to Katara. Again. And this time, it was to her big brother. The Fire Lord could only imagine what the man across from him might do if he knew it was her they spoke of. More silence followed, this time with a more awkward air to it.

"Well, is there any chance you knew her before the masquerade? Any possible moment in time she might've had a thing for you?"

Images of the war flashed through Zuko's mind: when she touched his scar and offered to heal him in the Crystal Catacombs, avenging her mother's death after he joined their group, her tears when she healed him after Azula's lightning. The lightning he had taken for her.

A sudden revelation unfolded like a lotus blossom - what if he had jumped in front of the lightning because he had developed feelings for her? Zuko's head spun, reeling from this sudden epiphany. He was also relieved that these feelings hadn't developed over her vulnerability for Aang. These were self induced affections!

'_I guess they didn't develop because I didn't give them a chance to,' _he thought with wonder, and he stood suddenly. How could he know if Katara felt the same way, if she had the same repressed feelings?

"I don't think so, but I think I forgot something. Something important, or whatever," he muttered, leaving the room with a hasty "thanks!" leaving Sokka in a huff. Zuko hadn't even closed the door after him!

* * *

Now Zuko wished Sokka had known what the girls were doing today, because the next person on his list was Toph. She was definitely an asset to him here, because not only was she a girl, but she could be a bro too.

A quick check in the kitchen yielded nothing, and both Katara's and Toph's rooms were empty. He checked the courtyard they had been sparring in yesterday, the turtle duck pond, and other places they might be hiding, but to no avail. Hopelessness was beginning to gnaw at him when he recalled that his mother was a female, and should therefore be able to tell him where girls might hang out.

Luckily his wanderings had set him close to his mother's tea chamber, where she should be having tea with Uncle before lunch, and he flourished the door open with the look of a petulant child. After all, searching for unfindable women was like trying find the Avatar. Unfortunately for him, he had found the women in question.

Ursa and Iroh were joined by three stunning young women, decked in Fire Nation finery, for tea. His mind noted that all three could be considered attractive, but he had eyes only for Katara.

She wore a deep scarlet robe with golden trim and a deeper red belt, and probably pants to match. He was left to guess the last bit, since she was sitting with her legs folded under her. Her hair was left down, except for the top layer that had been pulled into a Fire Nation topknot. Zuko's faced slackened into confusion, and he found himself looking like a fool lingering in the doorway.

"Oh, good afternoon Zuko. I thought you might find your way here eventually," his mother smiled and motioned for him to sit on the cushion in front of him. After mumbled apologies he knelt on the cushy surface. Toph, Suki, and Katara were all seated on the other side of the table, with Ursa and Iroh at the ends. Zuko found his position to be to the right of his mother and across from Katara. Unfortunately, Toph was on the furthest end, next to the old man.

"I was invited to tea, but I never expected such rare beauties in attendance," Iroh said conversationally, earning smiles from the young women.

"I thought it would be nice to have tea with other women. You know how your uncle can go on about tea," Zuko's mother gave an innocent smile and a shrug, but he knew what they were doing: embarrassing the living daylights out of him.

"You seem tense, Zuko, would you like some tea?" Katara asked, already reaching for the teapot in the middle of the low table.

"No! No, I'll do it," he said, voice pitching first high then lower as he struggled for composure. Katara withdrew her hand when he snatched the teapot rapidly, nearly sloshing tea everywhere. He began pouring his tea, and couldn't help but glance up at the waterbender across from him.

She was laughing at something his mother just said, most likely about him being ridiculous. He flashed his eyes nervously to the elder woman and saw she was giving a toothy grin in return. Zuko couldn't help but feel a little relieved that his mother was being so open with Katara, since he knew that particular smile was reserved for more personal encounters.

"Zuko, you're making a mess!" Iroh scolded with a laugh, and the young man returned his attention to pouring. Indeed, the cup was overflowing with tea, and the soft brown liquid was spreading over the table. Mortified might have been an appropriate adjective for Zuko's emotion of the moment.

Before anyone could raise a linen napkin, Katara was flicking her wrist and the tea was hovering above the table in a swirling ball. Ursa expressed her amazement, it was rare for her to see waterbending in the Fire Nation, which coaxed a modest blush from the bender as she bent the tea into the pot.

"I'm not really in the mood for tea any longer," Zuko announced, already beginning to rise.

"You only just arrived Zuko. Please, sit. I insist." The Fire Lord recognized that tone in his mother's voice, and it said, "sit or I will make you sit." He gave a brief thought to making a run for it, but realized it would only fuel his embarrassment for this awkward meeting. So it was with resignation that Zuko lowered himself back down, making a good effort not to look like a pouty child.

"I hope that you ladies are finding the young men at the masquerade to be charming."

'_Great,'_ Zuko thought. _'They're going to talk about men. At least I can be excluded from the conversation.'_ Oh, but the young man was never more wrong.

"I haven't really danced with anyone other than Sokka," Suki replied. "He gets quite jealous if another man asks me to dance." The auburn haired warrior smirked, while Katara rolled her eyes and Toph laughed openly.

"Yeah, that sounds like something he would do!" The earthbender thumped her hand on the floor at the hilarity of imagining Sokka's face.

Zuko quirked his eyebrow as he stared into his cup, but said nothing. If _he_ was engaged to the woman he loved, he wouldn't let any man dance with her either.

"Ugh, don't you get tired of that, Suki? I bet he's a horrible dancer too," Katara curled her lip in distaste. A fire flared in the pit of the Fire Lord's stomach, as if her words had been a personal challenge to his thoughts. Suki shook her head.

"No, I think it's cute the way he gets all flustered. It shows he really cares," she replied shyly, to which Toph stuck her tongue out at. But Zuko nodded his in the slightest movement, a resolute face reflected in his tea. "Well what about you Toph, have _you_ danced with any outstanding romantics?"

"Ha! There was this one guy who tried to impress me with his knowledge of Earth Kingdom history, but he turned out to be a real flub. He didn't know anything at all! And there was another guy who asked me if he had something in his teeth," she grinned wickedly here. "So I told him yeah, something big and green. He ran away so fast, he was almost as quick as Sugar Queen's temper!"

"I do not have a quick temper!" The woman in question huffed, glaring over Suki's head at the blind young woman.

"I think Katara's had the best experience out of all of us," Suki gushed, her hands clasped tightly as she turned to Ursa.

"Oh?" The former Fire Lady tilted her head in a questioning manner. Zuko finally looked up from his tea, since the conversation had taken this twist that involved him.

"Um, no, it's not really - " Katara began modestly, but she was cut off by Suki.

"Yes! She's told us all about a young man named Lee who has practically swept her off her feet!" The Kyoshi teased, poking a finger at the young woman between her and Ursa. "And last night, _she_ _kissed him!"_

"I told you, I was just being stupid," Katara muttered, shooting mutinous looks at her future sister-in-law. Zuko sipped at his tea, wishing he could melt into the floorboards. His mother was very adept at politics, though, and played her part well.

"At least this ball is benefiting someone. I fear Zuko hasn't found a single woman to keep his attention," she sighed wistfully. "I think he's just too picky."

The firebender's ears reddened. Why did she talk about him as if he wasn't there? He was about to open his mouth and defend himself, but someone else beat him to the punch.

"Zuko is a good person, and I'm sure he just wants to find an equally good partner," Katara said earnestly, shooting him a quick glance that told him she hadn't forgotten about last night.

"You do me a great honor," he bowed his head, and his voice was dry. When he brought his head up, their eyes locked. Zuko lingered on her soft eyes, but lowered his gaze to the table. "I have already chosen the woman I intend to pursue."

Katara felt a thrill run through her when Zuko's eyes had met her own, but now her heart was in the bottom of her stomach. Shock, disbelief, and something akin to betrayal flashed through her system. What if he married a mean woman, who wouldn't approve of their friendship? The two had become close since her falling out with Aang, and she wasn't ready to let go of him. Or their friendship.

Suki's murmured congratulations brought her back to the present, and she added her own mechanically. She should be happy for him. Maybe it would be easier if he looked happy himself. From what Katara could see, the Fire Lord looked uneasy and strained. Maybe he was being blackmailed into the marriage? No, Zuko wouldn't let anyone get the best of him that way.

"Hmm, I can hear the bell tolling for lunch," Iroh grinned, patting his stomach. "Who is ready for some roasted komodo-chicken!"

"Yeah!" Toph stood enthusiastically, followed by Suki and Katara. Zuko rose too, determined to not let Toph get away from him.

"Toph, why don't you come with me to fetch some blankets for the picnic," he said causally. The earthbender could feel his heartbeat, though, and assented before Ursa bid her guests good day.

"I know who you want to marry. And I approve," Toph announced as soon as they were out of hearing from the others when they parted ways. He expected to see her signature all knowing grin, but her face was serious as they walked on.

"How do I know you know, and you're not just bluffing?" He countered. Zuko knew it was silly to challenge her, but it was annoying that everyone could see right through him.

"Do you want me to tell Madame Fussy Britches that you intend to make her a powerful woman?" She asked, eyebrows inching higher on her forehead. Now there was a trace of a smile as she felt her companion's steps fall more on the stomping side.

"No, but I need your help."

"I'm all ears, Sparky."

"I need you to at least find out if she even has the smallest crush on me," he said, unlatching the door of a small closet. Toph pondered over telling him about how unsteady Katara's heartbeat had been when the waterbender had spilled that she asked him to stay in her room last night.

"Sounds like fun to me," she smirked, holding out her hands for blankets.

"It's serious, Toph. And don't even so much as hint that I...have feelings for her," he gulped, folding some more blankets on his arm.

"Yeah yeah, I won't tell her how much you just _loooved_ that kiss last night," she taunted as he latched the door shut, and they were walking once again.

"Hmph," was all he offered, knowing well enough that the mockery had only just begun.

* * *

**A/N: Sooo what did you think? I tried to describe a sort of Fire Nation tango, what did you guys think of that?**

**Leave me a review so I know people are still reading this! (And that I'm not just writing for myself. _;;)**


	8. Apologies and Flirtations

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you all for your reviews, I'm feeling the love! :'D**

**I would like to say yes, the gAang may seem ooc only because they are five years older and therefore have five more years of vital life experience! Five years is a long time for change to happen, especially with teens/pre-teens to young adults. **

**Anyway, this was one of the more interesting/fun chapters to write. I hope you like it, because I know I had a blast writing it. Bro Toph is best bro. x)**

**Danger: Zutara fluff ahead! You've been warned. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Sweet delicious meat!" Sokka was practically drooling as the servants paraded out with platters of roasted komodo-chicken. He impatiently squirmed in his spot on one of the blankets, of which there were three laid out in a row.

The warrior shared a blanket with his intended, Zuko sat with Iroh, leaving Toph and Katara together at the opposite end. The earthbender had whined and begged the Fire Lord to switch blanket partners, but he had devoutly refused. He wanted Toph to complete her "mission" as soon as possible.

Espionage wasn't really Toph's thing, but Katara made it too easy when she leaned over their personal bowl of dumplings and whispered behind her hand.

"What does Zuko have against me? Do I smell funny?" She pressed her nose to the fabric gathered at her shoulder to preform a sniff test, but she found herself smelling as per usual.

"Dunno. Maybe he's just jealous of Lee," Toph said, popping a dumpling into her mouth before leaning back on her hands.

"Toph, I _told_ you to drop that thing about Zuko," Katara blushed, picking over the plate of fruit. "He doesn't like me like that."

"Are you sure, Sweetness?" Her voice was casual, like they were discussing the weather. "Did you ask him?"

"I don't have to," the waterbender scowled, the blush getting deeper. "We're just good friends, that's all."

"I could hear your heartbeat going crazy when he said he'd found someone to marry! Don't even lie to me." Now it was Toph's turn to scowl, her milky eyes unseeing as she stared in the direction of her wiggling toes. "Plus, you never really told us what happened in the cave at Ba Sing Se. So what went down?"

Katara struggled within herself. It might be true that she had a teeny tiny crush on the Fire Lord, but admitting it aloud would just make it seem more real. She also didn't want to share what happened in the Crystal Catacombs before Aang and Iroh had arrived. Somehow, it seemed like a sacred moment shared between the two of them.

"I...um...touched his face. But only because I offered to heal his scar," she added hurriedly when Toph started to get a mischievous look on her face. "I can't think of anything else that would help your...theory." That might apply to the cave, but other events came to pass that had made her see the firebender in a new light.

"What about the lightning? Have you asked him about that yet?"

"Uh, well, no. But there hasn't been a good time for it."

Katara shot a glance to the blanket next to hers, with Iroh sitting on the corner closest to her and Zuko sitting opposite him. His uncle always had a talent for making the young man smile, and he was currently laughing about some joke involving tea leaves and being bushed.

"No better time than the present!" Toph grinned broadly, her smile falling under Katara's classification of 'demonic.'

"Toph, no! What about Lee, and that girl he - " The waterbender swiped at her companion's arm, missing as the woman jumped to her feet and out of range. She could only stare helplessly at the scene unfolding before her.

"As Melon Lord, I will now be conquering your space. Feel free to move to my abandoned territory." It was more of a command than a request, and Zuko was about to protest when Toph took a strong earthbending stance. "Don't make me use force, Sparky. Besides, I haven't really talked with Uncle since he got here."

"Uncle?" He asked, flabbergasted that the young woman thought herself so well acquainted with his old man. She nodded firmly in response, and Zuko had no choice but to flee when he felt the earth start to shift under his body. Toph plopped herself down on her newly acquired territory and Zuko scrambled into his, glaring daggers at the blind woman. What was she thinking?

"Um, hi," Katara said shyly, the previous conversation still fresh in her mind.

"Hey." He seemed just as awkward as she felt, and she was beginning to think that Toph wasn't just teasing her. But could she see herself with Zuko? She definitely wasn't ready for marriage...and what about that other woman?

"So, er, Toph and I were talking. She wanted to know why you jumped in front of Azula's lightning for me. And, uh, I'm kinda curious too. I mean, I know you don't like to talk about it..."

"Oh. Well, I never thought you'd be wondering about it." Was he _blushing?_

"We don't have to talk about it if - "

"No, it's fine. You were there too." He took a deep breath before going on. "She had no right to attack you like that. The duel was between her and myself. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me."

"But when I agreed to go with you, I knew the consequences!" Katara protested, leaning forward unconsciously.

"If anything happened to you, it would have been my fault. I asked you to come in the first place."

"I'm a master waterbender, I could've taken care of myself. Besides, you were the one who was going to be the leader of a nation, not me! Compared to you, I was expendable!"

"Don't ever say that," Zuko growled lowly, and he leaned in too. They were still three feet apart, but their gazes locked with a heated intensity as they forgot the world around them. He thought back to that moment, when everything seemed to play in slow motion. "If I let it hit you, you would have died." A lump was beginning to form in his throat as he imagined her lightning-charged body lying limp on the ground.

"You don't know that."

"I do. Both her and I were at our peak during the comet. I'm sure that's the only reason I could take it. Besides, what would I have said to Sokka and your father? How could I live with myself?" His voice was a pained whisper now as he stared at his hands in his lap.

"Zuko," Katara murmured sadly, feeling wholly responsible for the somber mood hanging over their blanket. It was her will to help others that made her crawl to close the distance between them, and rest a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with distress gleaming in his eyes, as if he really thought that he had let her die for a moment. He reigned himself in quickly, and gave her a small, lopsided smile.

"I don't think I thanked you enough for saving my life," he said. "So, uh, thanks."

"Any time," she said gently. The two of them lingered in the moment, and that's when Toph took her cue.

"Hey, I didn't leave so you guys could get cozy!" She stomped over to them, and the ground shook menacingly. Katara withdrew her hand quickly, and scooted back a few paces in embarrassment.

"We were just having a personal talk," Zuko defended, crossing his arms. He would have to talk to the little earthbender after the picnic.

"Well, I ate all of your red bean dumplings, so you can have your spot back," she said with a shrug.

"Maybe I like this spot," he challenged. Without any warning except cracking her knuckles, Toph bowled into the seated firebender. He gave a shout of surprise, but he was wrestling the wild young woman, and holding his own, in no time. They tumbled off of the blanket and into the soft grass, when finally Zuko was begging to be released.

"Fine, you can have your spot," he panted as he brushed the grass off of his pants. "But I'm kidnapping Katara." The Fire Lord had reached the blankets again, and proceeded to hook his arms under the waterbender's armpits and drag her away.

"What are you doing?" She laughed, falling against his chest as he let himself tumble backwards onto the blanket.

"Saving you from the pirates," he teased, and she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Are you going to tie me to a tree again?" She returned slyly. Was she really flirting with _Zuko_? Her former enemy, the one who had betrayed her trust so long ago?

"Only if you ask nicely," he smirked. Zuko's arms were still curled under hers, and when Katara tilted her head back, she found herself looking into his eyes. He was smiling down at her, and Katara could feel her heart flutter inside of her chest.

'_This is what it could be like,'_ she thought as she returned his smile with a shy version of her own. _'We could be happy.'_

Reality had this annoying way of crashing your fledgling hopes and dreams, though, and she suddenly remembered that there was a woman Zuko was actually interested in. Someone that wasn't her. And then there was Lee. She sat up quickly, smoothing down her hair as she scooted her body around to face him. Wasn't he at least a _little_ guilty that they were having such a great time together? Perhaps the other woman was a bluff - a story for his mother. Maybe not.

"I appreciate you saving me from the pirate Melon Lord, but I just remembered there was something I wanted to talk to Suki about," she said, excusing herself and retreating quickly to join Sokka and Suki. They appeared absorbed in each other, and Sokka frowned up at his baby sister for the interruption.

"She definitely likes you," Toph grinned, coming up from behind the distracted young man and causing him to jump.

"She said that?"

"Not exactly, but just trust me on this one Sparky. She's into you."

"No, I want her to _say it._ When you get her to confess, then I'll be satisfied." Zuko crossed his arms in finality.

"Ugh! You guys just had a flirtatious romp with cutesy dialogue, and you _still_ don't think she's into you? _I'm_ supposed to be the blind one here, not you!"

"You must have missed the part where she practically ran away from me at the end," he replied moodily, glancing over at Katara. She was talking with Suki and making exaggerated hand motions, leaving Sokka to sit at the furthest point from them while still occupying the blanket.

"Yeah, well, it's probably because Lee is trying to seduce her," Toph snorted, giving him a light punch to the arm. "She's conflicted between the real you and the you in disguise. Plus, the fact that you just announced you've found your bride-to-be doesn't help either."

"I guess that makes sense. But she barely even knows Lee, and we've been friends for years. Don't I take precedence?"

"Keyword there is _friends_. It'd be pretty awkward if she had feelings for you and you didn't reciprocate."

"But I do," Zuko murmured lowly, giving the waterbender another glance. Her gestures were a little more contained now that Suki was trying to ask questions.

"Then tell her!"

"I can't. It's...complicated."

"Everything is complicated with you," Toph growled. "You want proof? Fine, I'll get you proof!" With that, the earthbender stomped away to join Suki and Katara. She had a short argument with Sokka, who left after seeing that he was sorely out numbered.

"What's with them?" He asked, slumping down onto Zuko and Iroh's blanket with a grumpy huff.

* * *

"Why can't you just admit it! You like him!" Toph hissed, jabbing her finger at Katara. The waterbender flinched, but she didn't deny it. "Say it! Say, "I like Zuko in a romantic way!" Even Sokka must be catching on by now!"

"Toph, don't be so insensitive!" Suki scolded, wrapping a protective arm around Katara. "If you're going to act like a boy, you can go play with them!" Toph was fuming, but she held back her retort as she stomped away. Since she had to pass the Fire Lord on her way inside, the earthbender grabbed the front of his tunic and hauled him to his knees.

"Next time, don't involve me if you won't listen to my advice," she growled, releasing him and slamming the door behind her. Zuko smacked his forehead with his palm, and Sokka narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What was that about?" The warrior looked like he was about to whip out his detective hat any minute.

"Nothing. I should go."

Once the young firebender was inside he released an unintelligible, frustrated sound. He stalked down the corridor, taking the maze of hallways that would lead him to his room.

'_Why do I destroy everything?'_ He thought as he stared up at the canopy of his bed. The mattress was soft on his back, and the silken sheets slick on his bare arms. Zuko ran a hand through his hair, tugging impatiently when he met knots.

He reflected that his action now was so different from running his fingers through Katara's hair last night. Where her hair had been wavy and soft, his was lank and downright unappealing. Hers had reminded him of running water, the way it danced between his fingers. His was unruly and wild, much like his element.

He turned restlessly onto his side, and stared at the far wall. He tossed to the other side, and found himself staring at an identical wall. In his frustration, he flopped onto his stomach with his face in the pillow.

'_I'll have to apologize to Toph before tonight. I don't blame her for being mad.'_

Zuko rested his chin on top of the pillow to breathe in fresh air, and allowed his mind to rewind back to when Katara had been leaning into his chest. Because she wanted to. He had relished the feeling, and for a split second it was as if he had won her over. He thought that they could continue like that, and be happy. Perhaps they could be, if Katara didn't have a conscious.

"If the problem is Lee, I should just get rid of him," he muttered into the pillow. Maybe for one night, he should just dance with Katara as himself. Zuko hated the guilty feeling that he was lying to her, and he reasoned that he didn't really need the disguise if she already liked him.

'_But I can't just tell her now. Maybe I'll never have to.'_

That thought cheered the young man into sitting up, but his posture remained hunched. He had a spark of hope, but there was still a lot to accomplish in the night before him.

Zuko spent the remainder of the time before dinner rehearsing witty dialogue with his pillow, trying to think his way out of difficult situations. For example, one potential set of dialogue might go:

"Hey Zuko, how did you know it was me? And why aren't you dancing with your fancy girlfriend?"

"Hey Katara, anyone could tell it was you with that hairdo. She's not my girlfriend, and she's not here tonight. Besides, I want to dance with _you_." Zuko planned to insert a smile there to win her heart for sure. In fact, he practiced the smile a good ten minutes in his bathroom mirror.

'_Yeah, I've got this,'_ he told himself confidently. If only he felt as sure as he sounded.

* * *

While the Fire Lord was off sulking by himself, Katara was left to face the scrutiny of her older brother.

"So what's up with you and Zuko?"

"Nothing's up," she replied defensively. "It looked like something was going on between him and Toph. Go ask her."

"Clearly she's just the middleman. She went from Zuko, to you, and then back to Zuko before she stormed off! Spill the sea prunes!"

"Sokka, if she says there's nothing, then there's nothing," Suki warned, a dangerous tone creeping into her voice. Poor ignorant Sokka just didn't know when to back down.

"You can't just tell me that what I saw wasn't real!" He pointed an accusatory finger at his fiancé. "You're in on it, aren't you!"

"I'm just trying to defend her from her inconsiderate brother!"

"I can defend myself! And there's nothing to discuss, so just leave me alone!" Katara stood abruptly and darted into the palace. She hated seeing Suki and her brother fight - especially because of her!

Trying not to sprint down the hallway to her room, Katara still kept a fast pace as she recalled telling Suki about how weird Zuko was acting. And how much she had actually enjoyed it.

The Kyoshi warrior had told her to give Zuko a chance, and not to worry about what Sokka might think. Surely Sokka would despise anyone she took an interest in, but Zuko was different. Zuko was a friend, a comrade. Zuko was _not_ his baby sister's romantic interest.

Then there was Lee. She hardly knew the young man, but already felt an inexplicable connection to him. The young waterbending master hated to have to choose between the two men, but it seemed there was no choice. Trying to persuade Zuko from his woman would be wrong, though. He hadn't chosen her, and he was looking for a woman to be his Fire Lady. If she didn't take further interest in Lee, he would disappear from her life after the masquerade for sure.

Katara sighed as she entered her room, and decided that a nice long bath would put her mind at ease. Servants were summoned to bring the heated water to her room. Some tried to stay, offering to wash her back or comb her hair afterwards. When a firm refusal didn't work, the waterbender had to forcibly show them to her door.

It wasn't until she was neck deep in flowery-scented suds that she realized they had been treating her different than usual. Of course the women always offered their services, since it was there job, but this time they were more insistent that she shouldn't do anything herself. She blamed it on the stress of the masquerade, and submerged her head.

She felt very safe under the surface of the water. Cradled in warm darkness with her eyes closed, Katara felt like a water spirit. Sometimes she even had dreams that she was. She wished to stay in the comfort forever, but her lungs were straining for air. Waiting until the last possible second, Katara broke the surface of the water and sucked in the life-giving oxygen. She could have easily stayed under using her bending to form a bubble around her head, but this was like being born again. She always had more of an appreciation for breathing afterwards.

The air was cooler than her watery environment, and she felt renewed by its soothing temperature drop as she slicked back her long hair. There were a variety of soaps and oils to choose from for her hair arranged beside the tub.

After picking through many exotic looking bottles and several sniff tests later, Katara had chosen the matching jasmine set. She worked the oil into her scalp, enjoying the slick feeling as she wound her hands through her hair. The scent of jasmine blossoms filled the air in the small room as she worked. After applying the shampoo, she tilted her head back into the water and thought about what she might wear tonight.

'_I've already worn my two fanciest dresses. I guess I'll have to settle for something a little less impressive.'_ She thought. There was the one with the flowing sleeves that was usually reserved for formal ambassador meetings, but it would have to do for tonight. _'And if Lee becomes disenchanted, well, better to know now that he was only interested in how I looked.'_ Katara felt her cheeks grow warm at the short length of the dress she had worn last night. What would her father say?

"I am a grown woman, and I can wear what I want," she said aloud in a rather resolute voice. This gave her some comfort while she ran the soaped-up wash cloth over her arms. She stepped out of the tub when she was acceptably clean, and wrung her hair out before wrapping a plush red towel around her body. She peeked around the doorway, afraid that there would be a repeat of Zuko barging in on her when she was half-naked. There were no surprise visitors, though, and her loneliness continued as she finished dressing and braiding her hair.

At a loss for what to do until dinner, which was swiftly approaching, she wandered over to Toph's room. After her quiet knock and the younger girl's ascent to enter, Katara found herself sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and her back against the wall, seated on the bed next to Toph.

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to start an all out war," Katara murmured apologetically. "I'm just afraid of my feelings. I - I guess I do like Zuko. In a romantic way." Katara's face was dark with her blush as she studied the wrinkles in the fabric draped over her knees.

"You should tell him."

"But what about that other woman he mentioned? This is so weird..."

"Sweetness, any man would be crazy not to pick you over some puffed up noble lady," Toph grinned. "Besides, I have a hunch he'd drop her in a heartbeat for you."

"For me?" She whispered. Never before had she felt so flattered by a man's romantic attentions, other than those from Lee.

"Sure, why not. I can see it, especially after he "saved" you from me today," the earthbender teased as she picked at her toenails. "It was so cute, I almost upchucked all my dumplings."

"Oh, shut up!" Katara laughed, pushing her companion's shoulder. After a devastating break up, one usually thinks that they will find another person to make them happy. Zuko had already proved himself time and time again to be somebody who could do that and take care of her.

"As for Lee, I guess just tell him you're not interested."

"But it seems like I've led him on these past two nights...plus I kissed him..."

"Hey, even _he_ knew you were confused. I'm sure he'll understand. And if he doesn't," Toph cracked her knuckles, not needing to finish her sentence. "I'm sure you could take him." Many jokes involving emasculating men were exchanged, and laughter followed just as naturally. When they fell into an amicable silence, Katara found herself thinking back to Suki and her brother.

"After you left, Zuko followed and Sokka gave me the third degree. He and Suki got into a fight because she was defending me...what if I ruined their future?" Katara gasped.

"C'mon, you know they've probably made up by now. Haven't you ever heard her talk about making up?" The younger woman grinned widely, and the waterbender was quick to say:

"No, that's okay, don't give me the details."

"Are you sure? At this rate, you'll be the next one to marry. And you'll need some tips right?"

"Toph, shut it! If I wanna know, I'll ask her!" Katara insisted, embarrassment turning her face red.

"You're no fun at all Sugar Queen," she smirked delightedly.

"I wish you would hurry up and find a guy to crush on so I could tease _you_ mercilessly," the older woman grumped.

"Does crushing them in an earthbending match count?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I mean. What about Haru?"

"Meh. He's alright, but he's just not up to my standards."

"What, he's not man enough for you?"

"Nah, it's the hair. Have you felt how soft it is? I can't go with a guy who has better hair than me, even if I can't see it."

"When did you get a chance to...?"

"Hey do you think Snoozles and Fanny are done making up? Because this conversation is boring," Toph interrupted, scooting off the bed abruptly.

"I guess, but I don't think it's boring in the slightest," Katara grinned evilly, finally seeing her chance to score some payback. "So what were you saying about Haru?"

"Yeah, that just shows you have bad taste in conversation topics." Toph left the other woman no other choice but to follow her out of the room.

"I'm great at conversation! I'm an ambassador," the waterbender frowned as she walked beside the younger woman. "You're just mad I found out about you and Haru."

"There isn't anything between us. Not anymore." Toph gritted her teeth in annoyance. She had been hoping that telling this story could be avoided, but when Katara got the scent of something good, that woman didn't give up. "We were messing around with the idea of dating or something. It just never happened."

"His mustache was weird anyway." Katara said, giving her friend a comforting pat on the back.

"Yeah, that's what everyone said," she laughed, and the two soon found themselves knocking loudly at Suki's door.

"Just a sec!" Sokka's strangled shout greeted them, followed by the sound of beds being pushed back to their original places and the frantic gathering of discarded clothes. Toph couldn't contain her laughter when Sokka declared that he couldn't find his pants, to which Suki replied that she would answer the door in his stead.

"It's just Toph and your sister," she called behind her upon peeking out of the door.

"Well they still can't come in!"

"Sokka, we've been naked in the sweat hut before," Katara sighed, rolling her eyes. In the Water Tribes, it was common for families to bond while cleansing their minds and bodies in a sweat hut. It was like a sauna, except the structure was made out of animal skins and wooden poles.

"And I'm blind," Toph added. "I don't even know what your face looks like. You sound pretty ugly, though."

"It's not the same, Katara! And Toph, you'll still give me a hard time years down the road!" He whined as he struggled through his dirty pile of clothes, desperate to find something to wear.

"Check the one on the right," Suki suggested when she glanced back into the room, and she was rewarded with a joyful whoop.

"Suki, you're the best!" He exclaimed, hugging her from behind after his pants had been secured around his waist.

"Yeah, you might have mentioned that a few times," she smirked. "So, what's up girls?"

"We were just on our way to see Uncle," Toph answered before Katara could get a word in edgewise. "He has some pretty outrageous stories from when he was a general."

"Yeah, but weren't most of his conquests in the Earth Kingdom?" Suki asked, leaning on the doorway. "Oh, somebody smells good!" She considered the earthbender for mere seconds before looking at Katara. "What is it?"

"Just some jasmine oil in my hair," she shrugged nonchalantly, but inside she was patting herself of the back for an exceptional choice.

"He only talks about his losses, and it makes the Fire Nation look _ridiculous."_ Toph completely ignored the conversation on scent, and Sokka took her up on the less girly conversation.

"Sounds good to me. He's got a decent sense of humor," he admitted.

"You two go on ahead, Katara and I are going to talk about some wedding details." Sokka and Toph had saw no problem in escaping a decidedly feminine topic, and they were halfway down the hall before Suki had shut the door.

"I thought everything was already planned out?" Katara asked, sitting on the edge of the lone chair as the other woman took a seat on the edge of one of the beds. "Isn't the ceremony next month?" Suki nodded.

"Yeah, but there's something special I wanted to add," she replied, kicking her feet distractedly. "When a couple gets married on Kyoshi Island, the bride has a woman attending her. It's usually someone they're close to. And, uh, I want you to do that for me."

"Of course!" Katara squealed, springing up from the chair and throwing her arms around the warrior. "Wow, this makes the whole ceremony more exciting. I can't believe it's finally going to happen!"

"You're telling me! I'm sure it only took so long because he was trying to carve the perfect necklace," she laughed softly, touching the decoration at her throat with a delicate hand.

"It looks like all his hard effort paid off! He was pretty clever about incorporating the fan into the Water Tribe symbol," Katara grinned. She impulsively felt for the necklace that had belonged to her mother, but remembered that it was gone. Her father now held it for safe keeping, claiming that a woman of her age shouldn't wear such a thing unless she was actually engaged to be married. The young woman missed the necklace dearly, but he was right.

"I know. He was very thoughtful." She toyed with the charm a moment longer before continuing. "Just as a warning, Sokka gets to choose a man close to him. It could be anyone, and you'll probably have to spend a better part of the night with him." When Katara wrinkled her nose, she added, "It's good luck for the married couple the longer you stay together! Promise you'll try to make nice?"

"If it was for anyone else, I'd say no. Consider yourself a lucky woman," the waterbender pouted, and more happy hugs ensued.

"Now, we have to get a special dress made for you..."

The two women discussed the finer points of the ceremony, especially the meshing between the two cultures. Flowers were being brought in from the Earth Kingdom, her delicate green robes already awaiting their debut, and plans for the special tent were already becoming a reality.

"It's just so..._real_," Suki breathed, shocked that she would be a married woman next month.

"You know what else is real? My growling stomach," Katara joked. "C'mon, I bet everyone's already waiting on us.

However, no one was in the dining room when they entered. Making sure that the timing was correct, Suki offered to fetch Sokka and Toph while Katara went in search of Zuko.

"Why can't _you_ search for Zuko?" She protested uneasily. This just screamed of a set up.

"I'm a betrothed woman, Katara! Wouldn't it look scandalous if _I_ were to go searching for him instead of you?" False shock played over the Kyoshi's face rather convincingly, and the waterbender snorted.

"I don't even know where to start looking."

"Use your imagination!" Suki winked, and she was gone before the other woman could get another word in.

With a frustrated groan, Katara began her search outside. She silently checked off the unoccupied places on her mental list. Courtyard. Garden. Turtle duck pond. Ursa's quarters. Iroh's quarters. Random rooms along the way.

Finally it was inescapable that she had to check his room. After taking a few wrong turns and asking servants for directions, she was standing outside his door. She could feel her heart hammering inside her chest, beating frantically as if trying to escape its cage. She could hear his muffled voice come to a halt at her tentative knock, and quicker than lightning it seemed that he was opening the door to her.

Katara's breath caught in her throat, seeing his golden eyes flash before her so suddenly. He was dressed casually, and had probably spent the day in his room after retreating inside.

'_By the power of Tui and La. He's not wearing a shirt.'_

Of course she had seen his shirtless form many times before, between healing sessions and sparring. This time was different. This time, she had an admitted affection for him.

"I, um, Suki, dinner...no one there...retrieve you?" Katara wanted to die right then and there. She sounded like a total idiot. Almost as bad as Sokka! Zuko seemed to understand her broken message, though, and silently retreated into the room. She poked her head inside, having never seen Zuko's room before, and was surprised by the sheer simplicity of it. The furniture was well made, but plain.

He was sorting through a dresser of shirts while Katara had stepped into the room, and was examining a wall hanging. It was decorated with Fire Nation demons and spirits, and she had just found the Painted Lady when Zuko cleared his throat. She turned quickly, ashamed of intruding into his personal space, but he was simply signifying that he was dressed.

"I didn't think I'd ever find you," she said quietly as they exited his room, her wits finally gathered. It was a lot easier to think when he had a shirt on. "You like to hole yourself up in such obscure rooms. Have you ever played hide-and-seek in here before?"

"With Azula, it was more like I hid while she tried to burn me out of every room." Their feet were the only sound in the lonesome corridor.

"Oh," she said awkwardly. "Well, maybe we could play tomorrow? All of us?" She added hurriedly. Katara tended to come off as overbearing, which Sokka had told her was just the opposite of what guys liked. She didn't want there to be anything implied in her words, though everything seemed to have a double meaning now.

"A normal game of hide-and-seek. I'd like that," he said, a smile flickering across his face when he looked down at her. Before she caught herself looking like a moon-eyed elk-calf, her eyes shot towards her feet. She was acting like a little girl with her first crush. Like the way she had been with Jet. Flinching at the memory, she pushed it from her mind as they entered the dining room. It was still empty.

"I thought for sure they'd be here by now," Katara puzzled as they took their seats at the low table. "I mean, it took long enough to find you. Surely Suki would've had an easier time...?"

"It's possible that Uncle was in the middle of a story when she arrived. I wouldn't be surprised if she got sucked in. He's a good storyteller," Zuko smiled as he thought of days gone by.

"It would be rude to eat without them..." She said under her breath when her stomach gurgled. "I think that we should fetch them." Just as she spoke, a servant entered with a scroll on a silver platter.

"For you, my Lord," the servingman announced as he bowed, proffering the scroll. Zuko unrolled the note curiously, and his eyes darted over the scribblings.

_Sparky,_

_Snoozles, Fanny, and I are taking dinner with Uncle. DO NOT join us. Have fun with Sugar Queen, she finally told me she likes you. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. _

_-Toph_

Below that, there was another note:

_Zuko-_

_Be good to Katara, she's gonna be my sister someday. If you hurt her, I know where you sleep. Good luck! _

_-Suki_

The two notes were written in the same hand, leading Zuko to believe that Toph had dictated her bit to Suki. He would have appreciated the gesture before the picnic fiasco. Now, however, it seemed that their dinner together would be difficult to maneuver.

'_It's like they're setting us up for a dinner date,'_ he thought suddenly, and his fears were confirmed when he took a second look at the room. Candelabras stood waiting to be lit, places were only set for two people, and a light incense burned in the back of the room. He didn't know whether to be in a fit of anger or thankful, because clearly the serving staff was in on it too.

"So um...what's up?" Katara asked, unsure of why Zuko's eyes were darting around the room like he was a caged polar bear dog. He snapped his eyes back to her face, alarm retreating when their eyes met.

"Toph, Suki, and your brother told us to eat without them. It seems Uncle will be detaining them a while longer." It wasn't entirely a lie. They _were_ with Iroh, and the two women _had _set them up to eat dinner alone. She seemed to take it well, though.

"Oh. Okay," she shrugged, and Zuko signaled for the food to be brought out by hitting the small gong. Bowls heaped high with steamed rice and plates stacked with meats were scattered on the table in front of them when the staff had finished. One lit the candelabras, and then they were alone.

"I still can't believe I have access to all of this food. Posing as a refugee in the Earth Kingdom gave me a whole new appreciation for necessities," he said as he piled rice onto his plate, and continued on to decorate his rice mountain with bits of seared meat.

"I know what you mean. We didn't exactly have time to find food when you were chasing us," she teased, inspecting bits of fish before deciding they were edible.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that," he replied sheepishly after swallowing his first bite.

"Mm, that reminds me...I should apologize for earlier today. At the picnic." Katara poked the food around her plate as she went on. "I didn't mean to cause such a commotion. It just...got out of hand." She turned her face down to hide her embarrassment. The fact that she was also recalling the solid feel of her body behind hers didn't help either.

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have - uh - done a lot of things."

A bold streak passed through Katara, and somewhere in the back of her head she thought she was crazy when she spoke.

"Ha, y'know, I think Toph is trying to set us up." Maybe it was supposed to be a joke in the beginning, but by the end of the sentence her smile was unconvincing. Zuko laid down his chopsticks quietly, and when he faced her he wore a calm mask.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" He asked quietly. The smile slid from her face as her eyes widened. She blinked once. Twice. Had Zuko really said that?

"Uh, um, no, but what would everyone think? We can't just - " Here she clapped her hands together, as if their joining would cause a catastrophic clash. "And Sokka, he'd never...go for it..."

Katara was becoming frantic, realizing she was talking about a relationship with _Zuko_. The honor-crazed Prince out to capture the Avatar. But no, he was almost an entirely different person now.

He had saved her from that falling rock at the Western Air Temple, Azula's lightning, and most importantly from herself. When Aang had left her, depression had threatened to eat her alive. It would have been so easy to give up. Zuko was always there, though, along with the girls and her brother. She would have never been happy again without her friends. The Fire Lord was different, though. He always had a quirky thing to say to make her laugh, or an idea to make her life a little brighter.

He had promised to protect her.

"Katara," Zuko murmured, his voice thick with emotion. He crawled on his hands and knees to her cushion, and sat back on his heels. "I - I have something to confess. I sent Toph to find out if you liked me or not, because...I really, really like you."

There, now it was out in the open. His heart laid bare for her to stab at. In his opinion, this was the absolute worst part of a relationship - trust. The fear of rejection. The young man trusted Katara with his life, though, so why would this be any different? Unsure of how the situation should go now, he leaned in and placed his lips over hers.

At first, he thought the waterbender would pull away. Truthfully, she almost did. Katara was terrified; all these newly discovered feelings made it hard to think straight. Instinct led her to reciprocate, and indeed she did. This softer side of Zuko was rather cute, and the kiss reflected his tender feelings. Afraid that she would float away in her heady state, she grabbed the front of his tunic while deepening the kiss.

Zuko gave a muffled grunt of surprise, but he couldn't pull away now. He was intoxicated by the scent of her hair, the residual taste of rice in her mouth, and the way her lips moved willingly against his. He found that one hand had tangled into her hair, while the other arm was around her waist. Katara broke the kiss gently, pulling back far enough to be barely touching noses.

"We can't do this. It's bad," she said, his hand that had been in her hair slipping down to touch her cheek. "We have duties, other people - "

"Just forget about them," he whispered, leaning in for another kiss, but this time she did pull back.

"We can't just forget who we are," she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. "You need a woman to marry, someone who can lead at your side." She stood, livid. "You've already found her, so just - just leave me alone!"

Katara slammed the door after her, leaving Zuko to reel in the wake of her emotional whiplash. First they were kissing, now she hated him? He pushed away a voice that said something like, 'that's a waterbender for you.' When he realized he should have gone after her, it was already too late.

The young Fire Lord let out a frustrated groan as he allowed his body to topple sideways onto the floor. Why couldn't things just be a _little_ easy for once? It was a good thing that he had such a determined spirit, he considered, because Katara would definitely be more than he bargained for.

His inspiration for finally getting off of the floor was the kiss. At least she had willingly kissed him this time. Small victories made all the difference. As he strode down the hall in search of her, he didn't need to ask if any servant had seen her. The strong jasmine scent from her hair lingered where she had passed, and she was still in the corridor when he came upon her.

"Katara, stop!" He commanded, grabbing her arm. She yanked her arm in vain, Zuko's tight grip held her fast. The woman spun furiously to face him, going from defense to offense as quick as lightning.

"You let go of me or I'll freeze you to the wall," she threatened, her free arm poised to bend whatever water she could collect.

"Just listen to me," he hissed, grabbing her other arm to pin them both to her sides. She began to wriggle again, her back arching like a fussy two-year-old. His only option to restrain her successfully was to pin her against the wall. Katara stopped her struggle for a heartbeat, and that was all the firebender needed to properly secure her. With her wrists trapped against the wall by his pale hands, she had no other alternative but to glare at her captor.

Zuko's eyes lost their hard edge, but his grip was still firm as he looked down at her. Such passion, such willfulness. It excited some primal instinct in the Fire Lord, but he suppressed it now that he had her full attention.

"There is no other woman, Katara," he said quietly, voice rough with frustration. How could she think any female could hold a candle to her raging fire? "I said that because...you're so wrapped up in _Lee_." His voice was bitter and wounded, and he wondered if he should just tell her the truth now.

"I am _not_ wrapped up in him!" Katara declared stubbornly, but the pink in her cheeks betrayed her. "We're just having fun, him and I."

"Then come to me when you've had your fun," he murmured, leaning in so that his lips tickled her forehead as he spoke. An involuntary shudder rippled through her body, but she still refused to give in.

"The Fire Nation needs a Fire Lady."

"They can be content with just me."

"You'll need an heir."

"I'll hire a surrogate mother."

Katara's breath caught in her throat when the firebender started a trail of kisses from her hairline down to the tip of her nose. His eyes were lingering on her lips when he spoke.

"Just give it a trial run after the masquerade. You might even like it," he smirked, his lips hovering over hers. Katara's eyes fluttered closed, expecting the imminent caress. There was no mistaking the disappointment that flashed across her eyes as he drew away before meeting her expectations. He released her arms and she made a show of rubbing her wrists.

"I'll consider it," she said curtly, arms crossing under her breasts as she stared daggers at him.

"Perfect." He returned her glare with a blissful smile, feeling more confident by the second as he took a step back from her. "What a shame I only have two more days to prove myself."

"And just how do you intend to do that?" She challenged.

"That would be telling," he teased lightly. "I'll see you around, Katara." And with that, he was striding back the way he had come. He didn't look back before taking a left down another corridor, but the waterbender's intense gaze never left his retreating form.

One thing was certain: she had a _lot_ of thinking to do before the dancing began tonight. Hopefully Iroh had finished with the trio of friends, and the girls would be in their rooms. This called for some serious girl talk.

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**A/N: Squee! Katara gets to be Suki's bridesmaid/maid of honor! Haha, wonder who Sokka's gonna pick for his man friend? ;) I didn't go into detail about the wedding because it's going to be its own chapter. What did you think? Thanks for reading! **


	9. Pinky Promise

**A/N: Hey there! Sorry it's been forever since I've updated, I started volunteering at the zoo this past week! Combined with Zutara week this week, I have little time to write. :[**

**Enough excuses! I hope you guys like this chapter, I wrote it just for you! Really, who else would I write it for? ;]**

* * *

As it turned out, the girls were not, in fact, finished being entertained by Iroh. A generous half an hour went by before they stopped by Katara's room, but until then she had plenty of time to think. Bringing her knees to her chest, she clasped her hands against her shins and assumed an intensely thoughtful expression.

A trial run, Zuko had said. Give it a chance. She snorted dubiously. The very first time she had ever put her trust in him, he had betrayed her. In a sense, she felt betrayed presently, what with her girl friends setting her up on a secret date. With a guy she had iffy romantic feelings for, at that. Although, they hadn't been so iffy when his body was pressed against hers, his lips tickling her face -

Katara gave herself a firm shake. What business did she have to enjoy such an exchange? True, it was flattering that he had feigned interest in another woman to excite her jealousies, but there had to be an ulterior motive here.

Was this just another game of his? That consideration made the blood boil in her veins. He had looked very sincere in his confessions, but she wasn't going to rule anything out. Zuko had switched to the "good" side during the war, but he still knew how to be the bad guy. And he was very capable.

If he wanted to play games, then fine. They would play a game. But they would play _her_ game, on _her_ terms. She was reflecting on how much fun she could actually have with this when both Suki and Toph's heads poked through her cracked door.

"There you guys are!" Katara's voice was exasperated as she glared at Suki's sheepish face, and Toph's mischievous grin.

"Have fun on your date, Sweetness?" The earthbender asked in her best attempt at innocence, but her smug smirk ruined the effect.

"It wasn't a date until you abandoned me! I'll have you know he _kissed_ me!"

"Ew, on purpose? Gross." The youngest woman made a disgusted face.

"Yes, on purpose! Telling me he had you-" she pointed accusingly at Toph. "-spying on me for him! And then he just says that he likes me!" Somewhere in her exclamations, Katara had sprung off of the bed and onto her feet. She unclenched her balled-up fists and tried to calm herself with deeper breaths.

"Aww, no way! That's so cute," Suki grinned. "How did he say it? Details!" She demanded.

"Well, uh..." The fire flickered out of Katara's eyes as she faltered hesitantly. Of course she should've expected they'd want the juicy details. "We were talking, and then he was right in front of me...he confessed...before I could even think straight, he just kissed me." She tried to shrug it off casually, but it still made her heart beat a little bit faster.

"That's it?" Toph scoffed, disappointed all her hard work had been for a dumb kiss. "Why aren't you two off alone?" She folded her arms across her chest as if annoyed at the less-than-romantic retelling.

"Because I thought it was wrong. I thought he was..._occupied_ with another woman. Like he said at tea?"

"He wasn't totally lying. I think he wants you to be the Fire Lady at the end of all this." The earthbender motioned vaguely with her hand, encompassing the masquerade as a whole. "Did he tell you he made her up?" Katara nodded before continuing her story.

"Yeah. I left because he was making me angry," she flushed slightly. "And he caught up eventually. He had to hold me against the wall to keep me there." Her blush was full now, and her listeners were all ears. "He said he made her up because he was jealous of Lee. And then he..." The phantom warmth of his kisses to her nose haunted her memories as she took an unsteady breath. "...he said I should consider testing out a real relationship with him when the masquerade was over. That I should forget Lee."

"That sounds about right. I always figured Zuko to be the jealous type," Suki nodded as if the whole situation made perfect sense to her. "So what are you going to do?"

"I guess...just wait to see how it ends with Lee?" What other choice did she have? And if she wanted to get to know the man behind the mask, could she really forget Zuko? His kisses lingered even now, but she pursed her lips willfully. Katara wasn't about to go down without a fight. Suki nodded and Toph shrugged.

"I think you two should just kiss and make up," the blind bender smirked.

"You'll understand when you're older," the Kyoshi assured her partner in crime, putting a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Do you guys want to all get ready here like the first night?"

"I'd like to get ready on my own tonight, if that's okay?" Katara felt guilty for pushing them away, but it seemed as if their opinions were already biased concerning her romantic life.

The only thing that needed serious consideration was her hair, since she decided earlier upon wearing her ambassador dress. Wracking her brain for something more exciting than the familiar Southern Water Tribe look, she remembered a hairstyle from her time at the Northern Tribe. A woman named Yugoda was her inspiration, and Katara replaced her hair loopies with braided loopies that met in the back of her head. She pulled the rest back into a loose bun, something like a floppy Fire Nation topknot, and admired her handiwork. Deeming it presentable, she turned her attention to the dress splayed out on her bed.

White fur touched at the shoulders and the bottom hem that hit her mid-calf. The dress itself was a Water Tribe pattern with circles and ovals, dark blue and a pure blue to rival her eyes.

Once the garment was on, she sighed at the familiar feel of it. The dresses she had previously worn had been nice, but nothing beat the feel of looser clothing. Katara felt like herself as she twirled the skirt around her, and for a moment she felt like a child again. But no, she had adult feelings to consider.

Her feelings.

Zuko's feelings.

Lee's feelings.

What if she just told Lee to go away? That she wasn't interested? The more she thought about Zuko, the less appealing Lee seemed. She knew Zuko and she knew he was a safe choice. What if Lee turned out to be a major pervert? Or what if he was like Jet? Katara cringed. Why did she attract weirdos? Too many questions and not enough answers.

She crossed the hall to Toph's room after positioning her mask, where Suki and the little earthbender were putting the finishing touches on their ensembles. Compliments were exchanged, but the walk to the grand hall was unusually quiet. They paused at the threshold with the waterbender in the middle.

"Good luck," Suki murmured. She knew Katara was a smart woman, but sometimes smart people make decisions that aren't good for them.

"Have fun." For once, Toph's smile was more on the encouraging side rather than mocking. As silent as spirits, they departed into the gathered crowd before them, leaving Katara at the edge. She hesitated, her misgivings about Lee becoming even stronger than before, but she simply held her head high and walked into the throng of people.

Since dinner hadn't exactly been productive in the stomach-filling department, the best choice was to head for the food. Decadent meats with strange spices accompanied foreign vegetables and cold soups, leaving the young woman puzzled at where she should start.

Nerves made her stomach shrivel, but she needed energy if she was dancing tonight. She chose a golden soup with bits of vegetables to start with, and maneuvered herself around the people. Most of the tables were full of laughing people, but there was one small enough for two in the very back of the table maze.

The habit of defending herself made her sit with her back to the wall, surveying the people over the rim of her soup bowl. The lukewarm temperature was welcome against her lips. Everything in the Fire Nation tended to be on the hotter side, and Katara dearly missed the colder temperatures of her native land.

The soup soothed her riotous stomach after finishing half of the bowl, but she hadn't even noticed how much she had consumed. She was looking longingly at the couples that surrounded her, wishing that _her_ life was so carefree and fun like theirs. Of course, she wouldn't be having such a sour time if she wasn't so sensitive to the feelings of others.

"Hello," a familiar voice rasped at her side. Before the bender could turn, a young man was seated in front of her. It wasn't the young man she had been expecting to seek her out, but she knew who it was instantly.

"Zuko, what are you doing here?" She whispered furiously.

"Well, this is _my _palace, and I _am_ putting on this masquerade. Don't you think I have every right to be here?" He returned lightly, tugging at the front of his formal jacket. His mask was black as tar, with small flecks of gold giving the impression of flames at the horizontal opposites. The mask wasn't large enough to cover all of his scar, leaving a bit of the pink to peek out at the bottom. His hair was down and shaggy, just how he liked it, instead of the more popular topknot.

"No, I mean what are you doing bothering me," Katara grumped, hunching her shoulders and shielding her soup bowl with protective arms. "Go dance with some ladies."

"I've been doing that the past two nights. They're boring," he claimed as he did his best Mai impression. The humor of it was lost on the woman in front of him, though. "Besides, I want to dance with you." She nearly choked on her ill-timed sip of soup.

"I'm only dancing with Lee," the waterbender coughed. "Don't you remember what happened the last time we danced?" Her voice was dry, and she knew he didn't need reminding of the dance at the Hundred Year War festival. Zuko cringed visibly, waiting for Katara to say something else. When she didn't, he proceeded with caution.

"I promise I won't step on your feet." A joke was usually the best way to get her out of an Aang related slump, he had found. "I'll wait the whole night if I have to."

"How did you find me anyway?" She almost hoped Lee would show up just so she didn't have to match wits with the Fire Lord. Usually she was all about the challenge, but after today she didn't know what to think.

"It wasn't difficult, but it wasn't easy. I sought out every Water Tribe woman in attendance, and I could tell just by looking at them that they weren't you. There's a specific..." he motioned his hand vaguely. "...thing that makes you distinguishable."

"Like what?" Not that she was curious or anything, but it was something to do in the mean time before Lee came around. As a bonus, he began looking uncomfortable.

"Like...it's just a feeling." Truthfully there was a sort of pull towards this particular waterbender, something natural in the way that he knew her general location in a crowded room. Zuko supposed it worked along the lines of Ty Lee's auras or whatever.

Katara quirked a brow in an unamused manner before returning her attention to the soup. He was so full of it. Finding her had only been chance, she decided, and sadly discovered her bowl to be empty.

"Come on, he can always cut in when he finds you," Zuko stood, offering his arm to escort her to the dancing mass of people. "Nothing bad will happen, I promise." It should have been a joke, but the firebender was serious and she knew it.

Katara put on her best sulky face upon standing, as if it would be the worst thing in the world she could imagine. It was worth it, just to see his face break into an easy smile as he led her away from the table.

"Great, he'll never find us out here." Her complaint was mild as he stopped in the middle of the hall, strangers surrounding them on all sides. The dance was from the Earth Kingdom, and it wasn't long before the two picked up on the movements mid-song. It was a relatively new one, having developed just after the war in honor of Toph Beifong herself. Katara felt rather silly stomping heavily and planting her feet before forcefully pushing out to the sides with her hands, mimicking the forceful earthbending movements.

"I don't think I could be an earthbender if I tried!" She laughed, her mood brightened as she contemplated her partner's solid forms. They came together, hands clasping the others at shoulder level with their arms bent. He nodded in agreement, their faces close together.

"They're forceful like firebenders, but the movements are too...unyielding."

Katara tried to suppress a smile, but Zuko caught it as they extended their arms in front of them with their fingers still entwined.

"I thought you were supposed to be hating every second of this," he said smugly, secretly pleased that he was able to win this battle. Finally he could just be himself around her, and not somebody else. She was aware of his feelings, but she didn't reject him. The fact that she was enjoying herself gave him hope for some semblance of a future together.

"Oh trust me, I do," the young woman replied seriously, schooling her features into a deep frown behind her mask. "But this 'Toph Dance' is just too funny, I can't take anyone serious while we're doing it." They both balanced on one foot now, keeping each other steady before preforming a series of rhythmic stomps with both feet.

"Don't let her hear you say that, Melon Lord might try to take you prisoner again." He looked around in mock suspicion, suddenly abandoning the dance in favor of wrapping his arms around the waterbender. "You never know where she'll be lurking."

"Zuko!" She gasped in surprise. "I'm perfectly capable of taking on Melon Lord by myself!" Despite Katara's protests, she didn't try to remove herself from his protective grasp.

"Believe me, I know. Forgive me if protecting you comes instinctually," he smirked. They had to sidestep a dancing pair to avoid being trampled, but thankfully the song ended before either had the chance to fall victim. Instead of bowing customarily, they still clung to each other, Katara still thankful for dodging the last potential incident and Zuko for fear of her escaping.

"I know this song," he said thoughtfully as his companion loosened her grip on the front of his jacket. "It was a favorite of Uncle's when they had music night on the ship. Some song about the four seasons."

"Sing it, then," she dared. The melody filled the room with its haunting tune, a simple dance accompanying it. Usually reserved for lovers, the dance required close proximity. Katara's hands rested on his shoulders, and his hands settled comfortably on her waist.

"Only because you asked so nicely." Zuko wasn't about to back down from such a direct challenge, but he held the same distaste for singing as the tsungi horn. It was doable, just not preferred. He cleared his throat as they swayed rhythmically, and his voice was so quiet she had to lean in to hear the words.

"_Winter, spring,_

_Summer and fall._

_Winter, spring,_

_Summer and fall._

_Four seasons,_

_Four loves._

_Four seasons,_

_For love."_

The twang of the pipa filled the silence between the pair as they continued the dance. Katara appeared to be deep in thought, as if the nonsensical song had stirred something in her mind.

"It's a nice song. You sing it well," was all she said. He murmured his thanks, but the woman seemed distant now. The mask shadowed her eyes, but the Fire Lord could just imagine those baby blues glazed over as she pondered. He was just about to ask what exactly she was thinking, but she spoke first.

"Why do you like me?" Her question was quiet, and it took him by surprise. In all his planned dialogue, he hadn't expected her to ask _that_. Then again, he hadn't entirely expected to confess his feelings for her.

_Play it cool, Zuko._

"I, uh, like you because you're so you. For instance," he hurried to continue, seeing her raise one brow. "You're very...strong. In everything you do. Your heart, your will, your passion. You've got spunk, kid," he gave her a small smile. "And you look absolutely bewitching in any situation."

"Oh, can it," Katara said, turning her face down to hide the heat in her cheeks. Had anyone ever really called her a strong person, in every aspect? Was she strong? She reasoned that Zuko was the stronger of the two, seeing how he had overcome a whole lifetime of serious family issues. Then there was ruling a vast empire at such a young age. Yeah, she was pretty sure that counted.

As to his compliment on her looks, well, she had heard any number of young men express how beautiful they thought her to be. Probably because they didn't see a lot of Water Tribe women elsewhere, and they didn't see much of her inner self. Zuko had seen her at a personal worst, sobbing with reckless abandon into his shirt.

"You asked for it," he smirked before continuing mercilessly. "I think the first time I realized you weren't a little girl anymore was the night before the Hundred Year War Festival. You were bending in the moonlight, and something just sort of...clicked."

Oh no, he was being too honest now. How could he let his tongue run away like that? In an attempt to further embarrass Katara, he had ultimately embarrassed himself. He wasn't supposed to be so open. They weren't even in any relationship past being overly friendly, and there he was spilling his mind to her. She handled it with all of the ease of an ambassador, though.

"Now if only we could get Sokka to see that I'm not his baby sister anymore, we'll be set." It was too late when Katara realized that she had said "we" instead of "I", but it gave her a small thrill to be a part of something that was more than herself.

"Mm, I hope we don't run into him. I can just imagine how that conversation would go. 'Zuko, why are your hands around my sister's waist in such an intimate way!' But really, what could I say to that?"

"I think you'd say, 'Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to woo her!' Insert dramatic cape flourish here," she smirked. The waterbender knew _exactly_ how he operated, and she was rewarded with a petulant frown.

"I'd never say that. He'd kill me." It was very near to the truth if not exact. Sure they were chummy, but friends could become enemies as soon as sister-dating came into the picture. She laughed as if he had said something particularly funny, and he was about to demand what it was, but her smile was so contagious he couldn't help but return it. "So, how successful has my wooing been so far?"

"Not very. You're really quite boring." Here Katara faked a yawn, but she hid a smile behind her hand. What was she doing, flirting shamelessly with this young man? She had to admit that the idea of having a bit of fun was more than appealing after months of wallowing in self-pity. Could she really get into another long-term relationship? The thought was daunting, but she tried not to think past tomorrow any more. She just wanted to smile again and not feel guilty about it.

"Good, because I want to take it nice and slow," he said, pulling her flush against him in perfect contradiction. "I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. I just want you to consider..." He brushed his lips against her hairline, and it was easy to remember their earlier hallway scene. "I want to make you happy."

Now, where had she heard that before? Something popped distantly in the back of her mind, like someone had said that to her recently. It was hard to think straight with this foggy feeling in her head, trying to resist the undeniable attraction he held. Katara had tasted his lips, and she wanted more. It was with forceful determination that she drew away when the music ended instead of taking what she wanted.

"You can start by respecting my prior commitment to Lee," she replied lightly, trying to gather her wits before she did something rash. "He has been my constant companion for the past two nights, and it would be rude to abandon him." Instead of arguing as she anticipated, the Fire Lord bowed at his waist.

"I'll be waiting for you, if you change your mind," was all he said before retreating to a far wall. Her eyes followed him, and though his face was nearly imperceptible from this distance, Katara could feel the heat of his eyes when he turned around.

Lee had practically begged to make it up to her tonight, whatever that meant, and he was nowhere to be found. A mask as unique as his had to be easy to discern in the crowd of similar faces. How miserably wrong she was. The waterbending master had to dance with several men, who didn't dance half as well as Zuko, to search the mass of people. She had even seen her brother and Suki, but no Lee.

Katara moved on to the seated partygoers, discreetly checking the masks of everyone as she passed their tables. Once she thought she had found him, but closer inspection showed an unfamiliar mask. When the tables produced a fruitless endeavor, there was only one last place she knew to check.

She slipped outside to the balcony she had grown accustomed to, but a quick search of the shadows showed that there was no one there. Defeat weighing on her shoulders, Katara leaned on the railing with her back to the garden. What had she done wrong? Why wasn't he here? Maybe the kiss _had_ scared him off.

'_Good,'_ she thought halfheartedly. _I wanted something more simple, and here it is. _Gran Gran had always told her to be careful what she wished for, but she had never imagined it would turn out like this. _But this doesn't mean I'll give the mighty Fire Lord an easy time. _That thought raised her spirits enough to push off of the railing and turn to the garden.

There was a new moon tonight, and the only light came from the windows of the palace and the lanterns in the garden. Allowing the darkness to hide her facial expressions, she began plotting on how to make Zuko's existence more...interesting. She didn't want him to think she was easy, after all, and it wasn't a girl's job to play hard to get?

Meanwhile, Zuko was still at his designated place against the wall. He had followed her with his eyes as she disappeared and reappeared in his sights, always dancing with a different man. He had scanned the room when she didn't appear for some time, and found her slipping out onto the balcony. He wanted to go to her, tell her to stop wasting her efforts on Lee. The Fire Lord had a feeling, though, that he needed to let her come to him this time.

Resigning himself to wait the majority of the night before Katara gave in, the young man occupied himself with picking at his fingernails. It was a nervous habit, but at least he didn't bite them any longer. Tomorrow they would all play hide and seek, since hide and explode required them to firebend and was therefore out of the question. He had the home field advantage, so would it be more fair to seek or hide? Zuko mussed his hair distractedly, already thinking of excellent hiding place, and didn't notice the familiar figure until she was upon him.

"Hey stranger." Her voice was what most would call monotone, but the young man knew that particular lilt to show her mild amusement. His head shot up, and sure enough found himself to be mask to mask with his ex.

"Mai." His response was strangled, as if the name wanted to die in his throat. How long had it been? Years, surely, but the woman didn't look a day changed. Her hair was still in the same style, the familiar twitch of her lips hinting at emotion.

"Glad to see I'm not forgotten." She joined him against the wall, and looked out at the dancers. "You can't catch a wife by being antisocial." He would label her tone as accusatory now, but he could tell she wasn't there to try to rekindle their failed relationship.

"It would be pointless to dance with other women when I've already chosen who to court." There, let her chew on that. Zuko glanced sideways, but he could tell the woman didn't believe him.

"Then where is she?"

"It's complicated at the moment."

"_Everything_ is complicated with you," Mai sighed, rolling her eyes. "I hope she can put up with your dramatics."

"She's pretty outrageous herself," he grinned. If the governor's daughter was interested in who the woman was, she didn't show it. As reining queen of the poker face, she was careful not to let her interest show.

Zuko turned his head towards the flash of blue skirting along the wall. It seemed Katara was finished with her search, because her eyes were intent on picking the path of least resistance to where she knew the Fire Lord would be waiting. The waterbender didn't even see Mai until she was standing by his side, and her interest was plain despite the mask.

"Katara, you remember Mai," he introduced unnecessarily. Of course they knew each other; they had clashed in combat more than once during the war. "Mai, Katara."

"A pleasure," the weapons mistress inclined her head, but her voice couldn't sound more bored. Katara murmured something polite in return, returning the gesture.

Mai shot Zuko one last glance before wordlessly disappearing into the throng of people. The reason she could see right through him wasn't because they had once been lovers, but because they had grown up together. He was like an open book to her, and just by the subtle change in his body language Mai could tell that he was a fool for that waterbender. She smirked as she dodged through the dancing couples, all the while thinking that Katara would make an interesting Fire Lady.

"So are you two back together?" Katara asked skeptically, crossing her arms while staring out at the nameless faces who seemed to be enjoying themselves. She felt some emotion rise within herself, but it was _not_ jealousy. Anything but that.

"No," he replied quickly, shifting closer to her as if to emphasize his point. "We were just talking." She gave him an appraising look, silently passing judgement on the merit his words held.

"You've scared away Lee, I'm sure you have, so I think you owe me." Katara turned to face him, her shoulders set in determination.

"What do you want?" He asked warily, suddenly suspicious of the young woman in front of him. Zuko knew she could be cunning in order to get what she wanted based on past experience.

"I need dresses for the next two nights, and I'll need an escort into town. That's you," she replied after a moment of deep thought. Making Sokka wait on her while she picked out pretty things always seemed like a punishment, and she really did need more dresses. The beginnings of a grimace tugged at the Fire Lord's face.

"Can't you just have a seamstress in the palace make them?" Katara could have sworn there was a hint of a whine in his voice as she tried to keep her composure. "I'm sure they'll be very accommodating - "

"No. I'm tired of being cooped up in the palace for so long." Her voice held such a finality that Zuko's second round of protesting died on his lips. He settled for a frown when a brilliant idea hit him.

"Fine. But I have a surprise for you afterwards." That was enough to turn her triumphant smirk into a suspicious frown. "Don't worry, it won't be that bad. I promise." He proffered his pinky, but she looked at it strangely. "You don't know what a pinky promise is?"

"No...should I?"

"It's the kind of promise kids usually make. Here, hold yours out." She complied slowly, and he curled his little finger around hers firmly. Katara let out a short laugh before he used their connection to pull her into him. "I promise you'll have fun tomorrow." His voice was low as he leaned his forehead against hers. The sudden intimacy of the moment surprised her, but two could play at that game.

"And if I don't?" Katara tilted her head the slightest bit upward, causing their noses to brush. The thrill of victory rushed through her as she heard the catch in his breath.

"I'll spend every day with you until it's true." Zuko felt the tingle in his lips, the near desperation for want of a kiss with this woman trying to take control of his body. Dear Agni, he wanted to kiss her so passionately she'd beg for more.

"Mm, are you sure you want to dedicate yourself so thoroughly?" She hummed, withdrawing from his presence slowly. Their pinkies were still entwined when he took a deep, sobering breath.

"Yes." And Zuko meant it, she could tell. Was she getting herself in too deep? What if it didn't work out between them? She'd never feel as comfortable in the palace again...but some things are worth the risk, she reasoned.

"Well, don't forget we're playing hide and seek tomorrow," she said lightly, breaking the pinky promise in favor of tapping him softly on the nose. "I'll make sure you lose every time."

"You're on," he smirked, interested in how she would accomplish such a feat. "Did you find him?" The Fire Lord briskly changed the subject to his other self.

"Do you think I'd come back if I did?" She replied roguishly, the corners of her mouth curling slightly. "That's kind of what I meant by you scaring him off, remember?"

"Just making sure you weren't playing favorites," he returned nonchalantly, taking her hand in his. Katara gave him a sharp look that said: 'What in the Spirit Realm do you think you're doing?' Zuko gestured out to the dance floor in response, to which she allowed being led among the people.

She very nearly groaned at the familiar Earth Kingdom beat - weren't they going to play any Water Tribe songs? - as she bowed formally to her partner. Thank La it was a tune she almost recognized, but before long she had it puzzled out.

"Oh! I know this song! It's 'Secret Tunnel!'" When the firebender didn't show any recognition, she explained. "We traveled with some singing nomads through a mountain to get to Omashu, once. Chong didn't quite know all of the words...but that's definitely the tune!" She raised her chin proudly, having not heard the tune for what was now six years.

"When I was still chasing you guys?" He asked as they split apart when the lyrics told of the two lovers being divided by a war and the mountain.

"Yes," Katara sighed, the two drawing close as it continued to the part explaining the purpose of the secret tunnel. "The nomads told us the story of how Oma and Shu built the secret tunnels using earthbending so they could meet in secret. But one day he died." She frowned as they embraced, imitating the lovers. "They built Omashu in their honor."

"How did you find your way out? I heard no one ever escapes," he said quietly, guiding her in a tight circle.

"The torch went out eventually, and glowing crystals on the ceiling guided us out." The story might sound a little far fetched, but it was the honest truth. She could tell by the awkward direction Zuko's brow raised that he didn't entirely believe the story. "Well, it's true. Their tomb said 'love is brightest in the dark.' If that's not a hint, I don't know what is," she shrugged. The waterbender wasn't entirely certain that the darkness was the reason the crystals appeared, or if it had been the soft first kiss with Aang...

"Sounds like I should visit some time," he said, interrupting her slide into mild depression. "But I think I should take a guide. Do you know anyone who would go?" His grin was bordering on devious as he spun her away, only to pull her back in.

"I'm sure Toph would love to meet those badger moles." Katara puckered her lips as if in thought, feigning innocence all the while. She wanted him to ask her directly, and having that power over him was..._exhilarating._

"Toph has never been. I'm looking for someone with more experience," he replied smoothly.

"Well Sokka wouldn't go back for all the meat in the world, and _I_ can't go because - well, really! It would give everyone ideas about us!" Now mock concern painted her face, and she brought a hand to cover her open-mouthed shock.

"I could kidnap you, if you won't go willingly. It'd be just like old times." As if to make good on his promise then and there, he clutched her hands possessively in his. Caught off guard by the distinctly romantic thought of running off with the Fire Lord for a few days, she giggled like a child before she could contain it. Katara abruptly cut off the outburst, but he was already smug with satisfaction.

"I - I didn't realize it was so late," the woman stammered, glancing at the vacant places around them and successfully changing the subject. Now the crowd was speckled with emptiness, only becoming more sparse as the song ended with its grand finale.

"You spent a lot of time looking for that guy," Zuko shrugged. This conversation was far less interesting than the previous. "Do you want to leave?" He released her hands unwillingly. No doubt she only brought it up to transition into leaving.

"One more dance, if you don't mind?" She asked shyly, uncertainly reaching out for his hand. The man gave her a long, measured look before accepting. He took her hand, but it was she who drew nearer to him.

The tune was slow, uncommon among Fire Nation songs, and the soft shifting movements they made echoed the slow flickering of a flame. She gently rested her head on his chest at first, and sunk into him when he did not resist her touch. Katara could feel the muscles tighten in his chest through the thin Fire Nation clothes he wore.

The last dance was awkward, to say the least. There was no eye contact, no playful banter. The icing on the cake was his expressionless face when they parted. She was beginning to think that maybe one more dance hadn't been such a good idea when he spoke.

"Let me walk you to your room," he offered, holding out his arm to escort her formally. The waterbender opened her mouth to say something - anything - but clamped it shut before taking his arm. They walked in silence after escaping the ballroom, and when the light failed them, he had dancing flames at his fingertips.

"Thanks," she murmured when they reached her doorway. This was nothing like last night, when Lee had walked her here. She was met with his stoic silence. Typical Zuko. "I didn't do anything wrong," she said heatedly, defending herself before he could attack.

"You didn't." The firebender's voice was rough in his throat as he agreed. He had been resisting the ever-growing urge to just plant one on her all night. Swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat, he clenched his teeth when the Water Tribe native pouted her lips. "Don't do that."

"I'll do whatever I want!" She seethed. Who did he think he was, to flirt shamelessly with her the whole day and then make her look the fool in the end!

"My palace, my rules." He stepped closer, the space between them barely discernible. The Fire Lord should have been intimidating, looming over the shorter woman like that, but Katara was not one to back down easily.

"I'm my own sovereign country," she declared, determination etched into her features behind the mask. Her temper was boiling just beneath her skin, the injustice of it all fueling her anger.

"Then I'm invading," he muttered, abandoning his restraint.

This kiss was fervid and demanding, his lips bruising hers with the intensity of it. Her response was a strangled noise of protest, made unintelligible by their contact. She tried to back up, to break the kiss, but somehow she was already against the door. Not that the kiss was unwanted, just unexpected. She still had a bone to pick with him.

Something stirred in Zuko when his romantic interest pushed back against him, and not just with her lips. It was as if she had set his whole body aflame, the way her hands clutched at his shirt, or maybe it was the press of her hips. Finding their masks abrasive, Katara took it upon herself to snake her hands up and untie his. The Fire Lord followed her lead and tugged at the silken knot that kept hers secured.

Now the kiss was broken, their masks discarded somewhere on the floor, and their desperate pants for air filled the air. The woman thought he looked like a man possessed, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light. It was hard to decipher his face without the light of his firebending, but she likened it to her own feelings: desire, craving, thirst. She had been alone so long, they both had. Their mutual feeling of sexual frustration drove them, but Katara let it consume her.

Reinstating the kiss, she coaxed open the door behind her with one hand and pulled Zuko with her as she backed into her room. He stopped at the doorway at the realization that they were going somewhere, breaking the kiss once more. She met him again, trying to be persuasive with desperate kisses at his neck.

"Katara, what're you - "

"C'mon Zuko," she crooned, tugging the belt at his waist. Oh Agni, this had to be one of his dreams. How else could she so willingly want to him in her bed? This was real life, though, and he had to keep his head straight. For her sake.

"N-No," he muttered, restraining her arms tightly at her side. "Not like this. You think this will be your quick fix. But it won't." Katara averted her gaze, only because it was true. She just wanted to forget the past five years with Aang.

"I'm not a virgin," she blurted out, still looking at the ground. His grip tightening was a telltale sign that he was surprised, but he waited for her to continue. "It was last year. We were both curious so..." She shrugged her shoulders, unsure of how to go on from there. "I thought we'd be together forever." Blinking back tears was an effort, but it could be accomplished with enough willpower.

"Shh, hey, it's okay," Zuko whispered, pulling her into a hug. His arms felt stiff and awkward when they surrounded her. Why did it surprise him so much that she and Aang had done the deed? They had been young lovers, and some urges couldn't be repressed if they didn't need to be. After all, it wasn't like he was a virgin either.

Katara clung to him like he was a ships mast in a sea storm, the only thing that was keeping her from sweeping away with the tide. She clenched her teeth, fighting the tears as best she could. Whenever she thought about Aang, it felt like her chest imploded every time. She hated feeling so weak.

"I'm so lucky to have you," she mumbled into his chest. As a friend or more, she didn't specify, because she wasn't entirely sure herself.

_I just can't deal with that right now._

"I always thought I was the lucky one." _Lucky to be born_, he thought bitterly. It was a pure stroke of chance - or destiny? - that he had been in the South Pole when the Avatar revealed himself again. Would he ever have met Katara if Aang stayed frozen? "You saved my life."

"You saved mine," she replied softly. He ran a tentative hand over her hair with the intention to soothe the waterbender, and was rewarded with her muscles slowly relaxing.

"I couldn't let you die. Now that I think about it, I probably had a crush on you then," he admitted. Maybe that would boost her self-esteem a little. Zuko could feel her soft inhale of surprise before she leaned away from his chest to get a better look at him.

"How would things be different?" Her voice was so soft he barely caught her words. Was she wondering what it would have been like if she had been with him, instead of continuing on with Aang?

Katara brought her hand up to the scarred side of his face, just like in Ba Sing Se. A delicate finger traced along the edge of his scar, down from his cheek to just below his earlobe. His regular skin was as soft as satin, but the scar tissue felt like old leather.

"You make the scar, not the other way around," she said suddenly. "It used to be a symbol of everything I hated. And now..." Her hand dropped to his shoulder. "Now it's just a part of you."

"Did I ever tell you how I got this scar?" He asked quietly. She shook her head, no, he hadn't told her. "If you want to, I'll tell you."

* * *

**A/N: What'd ya think of Zuko showing up as himself? The Toph Dance was completely random...I have no idea where that came from. _**

**And things got pretty tense at the end right? Thought you were gettin' some smut right? Wrong! XD**

**Anyway, leave your reviews and lemme know how I'm doing! Thanks for reading!**


	10. Scars and Fun

**A/N: Hello, Elations here! (Hur hur, see what I did there?) **

**I really have no excuse to not have this out earlier, except that it was hard for me to sit down and write the dang thing. I promise to make it up to you gaiz. srsly. You're too good to me. ;^;  
(Also, wtf is up with this chapter title? I must be insane.)**

**I would like to clarify that Lee and Zuko are one in the same, and that he has not, in fact, revealed himself to her. Yet. Some people seem confused on this part, and I'm sorry I didn't make it more clear.**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! They really encourage me to (actually) sit down and belt out the chapter. I will say that yes zukoforever, there will be a bending battle in the future, but I won't reveal who will win! But really, Katara is a master waterbender. How can she not win? ;]**

**Blah blah blah...enjoy!**

* * *

"I was just a kid," Zuko began. Katara had changed out of her gown in the privacy of the washroom, and now sported a pair of loose fitting pants with a long shirt to match. None of her clothes fit Zuko, so he had to make do with his formal clothes. They were sitting cross-legged on her large bed, her at the head clutching her pillow while he was at the foot.

"How old?" She asked softly. Katara didn't want to be rude, after all, and maybe it was a sensitive thing. Maybe he didn't want to remember that much.

"Thirteen." His response was almost instantaneous.

_He probably remembers every detail about that day,_ she thought.

"I insisted on sitting in at a war council. I thought I was entitled to it," he continued dully. "My uncle told me not to speak out, but I was never one to take direction well."

She wanted to say that it was true even now, but the mood was too serious. It was like making a joke about a dead sabertooth moose-lion cub. Not cool.

"My father demanded I should fight in an Agni Kai for being so insubordinate, to which I accepted. I thought that this could be my chance to show my father he had a son he could be proud of. When I turned around on that platform, I thought I would be facing the general I insulted. But because it was my father's war room..."

Something seemed caught in his throat, and he cleared it loudly. Katara already had a dreadful suspicion building in the pit of her stomach concerning what he was about to say.

"Because it was his war room, I had directly insulted the Fire Lord. My Agni Kai was against him. I begged for forgiveness on my knees. I wouldn't fight him. He called me a coward, then burned me and banished me."

The silence that followed seemed deafening. How could a father scar his own son like that? She clutched her pillow to her, thinking that her own father would never be so cruel to Sokka. Banished at thirteen. No wonder he was so set on bringing back the Avatar.

"The emotional scars," Katara murmured, touching the pillow covering her chest where her heart would be. No wonder he had been so confused in Ba Sing Se. The approval of a parent is always sought after. "I'm sorry life has treated you so poorly."

"It's alright. The Fire Nation has taken something from you that I can never give back..." He shook his head in disgust. At least he had found his mother after the war was over. The girl across from him would never see her mother again. Her chin sunk into the top of the pillow, back hunching unconsciously as she thought of her mother.

"I don't want to talk about that," she said dispassionately. Without the necklace as a constant reminder of what had been lost, the woman no longer thought too closely about her mother. Zuko wanted to point out that when she married she would gain a mother-in-law, but he let the conversation drop.

"It's sort of funny, the way Ozai and Azula both marked me physically. They were my primary tormentors." He gave a dark chuckle, but Katara didn't seem to notice. "Uncle and my mother, though...their kindness is internal. I'm a better person because of them. And you." He touched his shirt where the lightning scar was, the woman's eyes now found him. "You healed me."

She could take away all his scars, even the ones from regular combat. He could look like a normal person, but he would still be the same on the inside. What did it matter how he looked? His scars were proof that he had survived a traumatizing adolescence. Proof that he was strong.

"I have a scar on my knee," Katara said, keeping the topic of physical imperfections alive. She pulled up the right leg of her pants, revealing a scar about as long as his hand and think as his pinky. "A few years ago I fell on a patch of rough ice. I hit my head so I couldn't heal my knee right away. Good thing Sokka was there, or I would have bled to death." A wan smile appeared on her face. The gash hadn't been that deep, but her brother said there had been a lot of blood.

"I'm glad you're still alive. The ambassador chosen to replace you wouldn't be half as talented, I'm sure," he joked.

"I don't do anything special," she protested shyly. He thought she was talented? Of course her bending was renowned, but her political prowess?

"Please. The polar bear-puppy eyes you gave to the cabbage merchant guild six months ago just so he wouldn't raise his prices was _more_ than impressive." Zuko smirked at her sudden scowl. They both knew he was right, but the waterbender didn't like to be reminded of sinking so low. Speaking of sinking low...

"Sorry for trying to get in your pants." There was no way to put it delicately. She didn't want to bring it up ever again, but it would be beyond rude to not apologize.

Katara couldn't bring herself to look at the man. If she did, she would've seen that he was utterly dumbstruck. He closed his gaping mouth with a firm _click_ of his teeth, and tried to think of something appropriate to say without completely lying. Obviously he couldn't say, "Maybe some other time?" This was the Fire Lord though, and he had been through difficult word games before.

"Oh, well, y'know..." There. She could take that any way she wanted to. Hopefully the waterbender wouldn't ask for clarification, because that's when things could get hairy. Thank the spirits that she seemed placated by it.

"I had to do something, the prices he was asking were _insane_," the woman continued the previous conversation. "It would've been the end of peace for sure." It was as if she didn't apologize, like the incident never happened. But Zuko would _never_ forget.

"Yes, an all out Cabbage War," he mused. This conversation was going nowhere fast, and Katara seemed to have realized it. An idea must have hit her, because he saw her eyes light up in the dimness.

"That reminds me of a famous battle I once heard of...the Pillow Fight!" Dropping her guise of solemnity in favor of beating the man mercilessly with her pillow was _much_ more interesting. He gave weak protests with arms raised in defense, surprise prominent in his spurts of rusty laughter.

"Attacking a defenseless man should be a crime!" She continued to pummel him with the feathery weapon, showing no signs of letting up. "I'll have to resort to violence," he warned.

The attacks grew more fierce if anything. It took Zuko a couple of tries to snatch the pillow away, but he was successful in the end. With a shout of protest, the woman scrambled to get her weapon back but to no avail. The Fire Lord had longer arms than she, and she was already well into his lap while he held it at a distance behind him. Realizing her position, Katara quickly withdrew to her side of the bed. It was embarrassing enough that she had tried to seduce him once tonight, and being so close a second time didn't help her image.

"I'll give it back when you've learned your lesson, young lady," he scolded in his best parental tone. Relief flooded her; it would seem that they were just playing as friends were apt to do.

"You're not my father." The woman played along, sticking her tongue out petulantly for affect.

"Good. I don't envy the man who is," he snorted. "I'm sure you were one unruly child before you started saving the world. And even then...hey! No blanket bending!" Katara had taken her end of the blanket and tossed it over Zuko, effectively blinding him. He floundered in the fabric for a beat before resurfacing. "Now you're all out of weapons." This time, he hoped he was right.

"I could just run away," she shrugged, but there was no attempt to shift her body into a fleeing position. Instead, her posture was relaxed against the headboard, arms folded comfortably across her chest. The dim light from the lantern flickered over her form, shadows dancing wherever the flame directed.

"Where would you go? This is your room." His logic was infallible, but that never stopped Katara. The firebender set the pillow next to him, untangling his legs from the blanket as she spoke.

"Toph's room. Or yours. We could switch." For obvious reasons, she absolutely _refused _to think about sharing a room with her brother and Suki. Bunking with Toph would be like sleeping beside a wild animal, with all the snoring and flailing she did in her sleep. She had only seen Zuko's room today for the first time, but it was already more appealing than her other options. Plus, think of all the snooping she could do!

"Why would I switch my comfortable royal chambers for this tiny room?" Free of his burdens, the Fire Lord had begun inching his way across the bed.

"Because I said so," Katara frowned, noticing that he was getting closer.

"So the almighty leader of the Fire Nation is just supposed to bow to the whim of the Southern Water Tribe ambassador?" Their voices had become progressively quieter, the need for volume diminishing as the gap between them closed.

"Of course," she replied, as if it should be common knowledge. He stopped at her feet and sat back on his calves, surveying her with calm composure. She drew her legs to her unconsciously, knees bending more as she made a barrier to protect herself.

"You could sleep in there every night if you were the Fire Lady." Nothing in his words implied that they would be sleeping together, but it didn't take a genius to know that Fire Lord's chamber equals where he sleeps. His serious mask cracked with his smirk. "I'll sleep on the floor and you can sleep on the bed."

"Why would you do that? That's ridiculous," she scoffed, now exceedingly uncomfortable.

"It seems a little less ridiculous if it's for you," the man shrugged at his own hopelessness. Why did he have to make this moment a more-than-friends situation?

Katara was touched, though. When had a guy really done something in her best interest? Aang was sweet of course, but most of the time he had been occupied with making the world happy rather than making her happy. Not that that was a crime - he was the Avatar after all, it was his duty - but it had made her feel so alone.

"I don't like to think so far ahead anymore," she confessed sheepishly. After all those future hopes and dreams wasted on the Avatar, her reasoning was understandable. It was a sting to his pride none the less, but it could be handled.

"You don't have to," he said quickly. "I'm just saying. We could have fun together."

Katara was about to protest - if she was going to be in a relationship, it wouldn't be just fooling around - but she stopped at a sudden thought. What if he was saying that because he's agreeing with her decision? It wasn't so farfetched that he respected her enough to choose her own course, but it was very unlike Zuko to follow blindly. Not sure of what to think, she stored away that bit of thought for further consideration.

"We have fun now," she said instead, inviting a verbal challenge.

"We could have fun all the time. You'd never have to leave."

"I don't have to leave, but I do. My people need me." The man looked as if he had been expecting this answer.

"I know the feeling," he grunted. "But I'll think of some way to keep you here." Reaching behind him, he pulled the pillow into his lap and the blanket over their heads, making a tent of sorts with their heads as the supports. "I think it's time for bossy ambassadors to go to bed."

He kissed her nose lightly before escaping the blanket, leaving her no choice but to sigh and arrange her pillow. When she was laying down, her head peeked out at the top to witness the Fire Lord standing over her bed. He seemed satisfied by something, and he made as if to duck down for another kiss but decided against it.

"Good night," he said, favoring words over actions for the moment.

"Good night." When he was at the door he turned, gathering the firelight in his hand from the lantern. Her eyes were intent on his face as he spoke.

"Sweet dreams." And he was gone, vanished into the night like a spirit. Katara stared at the ceiling for what seemed like ages.

_We could have fun together._

His words were still ringing in her ears when sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

The next day found Katara well rested and eating breakfast with Suki by late morning. They reclined upon couches on the veranda overlooking the garden, the roof above providing shade from the always fierce Fire Nation sun.

"I can't believe he's really going to try to get with you," the Kyoshi said for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Like, he's _really_ trying to date you. Zuko. Jeez." She sipped idly at her tea as if wonderstruck at the idea.

"When you put it like that..." Katara honestly couldn't believe it herself. But after yesterday, the fact was undeniable. "I mean, it sounds _weird_." For lack of a better word, weird was the label for his pursuit. The other woman nodded in agreement while the bender picked at her rice.

"What's really weird is that Lee didn't show up at all last night. Maybe girls with a lot of emotional baggage scare him." Not that Suki was being mean, but it was an honest assessment.

"But he promised he'd make it up to me," Katara frowned the slightest bit, glancing up at the warrior to see what she made of it. Her companion only shrugged, silently sticking with her theory.

"You're lucky that Zuko agreed to take you for a new dress, friend or otherwise. Sokka never likes to go shopping," she said wistfully, thinking of all the pretty baubles begging to be bought in the city. "I wonder what he has planned tonight. The surprise," she prompted when the other woman looked confused.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Katara had always been the curious sort, but the surprise must have slipped her mind after retelling the events of last night (minus the seduction bit). After all, it's not every day that the Fire Lord, who is coincidentally one of your closest friends, declares his romantic intentions.

A door slid open on the opposite side of the green space, revealing said Fire Lord to the world. After looking around quickly and spotting them, he sauntered across the grass towards the women. His body spoke of relaxation, but his eyes were piercing when Katara caught them.

"Good morning, ladies," he bowed to them, and they returned his pleasantries. "Where are Sokka and Toph?" Zuko resisted staring at the waterbender with difficulty, but years of self-discipline paid off sometimes. Instead, he addressed his words more towards Suki.

"Asleep. I doubt they'll wake before noon," the warrior answered easily, flicking her eyes to Katara when the man turned his thoughtful gaze to a shrub. The women had discussed the idea of hide and seek earlier, and it was obvious that both shopping and playing would not fit into one day. Zuko seemed to come to this realization too.

"Perhaps we should play our games tomorrow?" Now his attention was fully on the Water Tribe native, golden eyes calm as he waited for her decision. Surprised that the choice was hers to make, she nodded wordlessly. "We'll head out when you are ready. I'll be in my mother's chambers." He bowed again and retreated across the garden, the door shutting softly behind him.

" 'Perhaps we should play our games tomorrow.' " Suki gave a rough imitation of the firebender's voice, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at Katara. "That guy could make asking for a bowl of rice sound suggestive."

"It did _not_ sound suggestive of _anything!"_ The other insisted, blood rushing to her face in her embarrassment.

Zuko certainly knew how to turn on the charm, but two could play at that game. She would simply have to one-up him. Somehow. A thought appeared in her mind as if it was sent by the spirits themselves, and her face turned serious as she began her mission.

"Suki, I need you to tell me everything you know about the weaknesses of a man."

All's fair in love and war, and this was going to be an all out battle.

* * *

About an hour later Katara was standing outside of Lady Ursa's chambers, twisting the hem of her shirt nervously around her finger. Her outfit was sensible, loose dark blue capris paired with a light blue tunic with a white sash tied around her waist. Suki had suggested something more revealing, like that outfit she had worn in the Fire Nation during the war, but comfort had seemed more important. Hindsight was 20/20, and now she was wishing she had worn something nicer.

_No turning back,_ she thought as she gave a small knock at the wooden frame of the door. The murmur of voices hushed, and Katara gave her hair a once-over with her hands before a voice beckoned her in. Sliding open the door revealed Lady Ursa and the Fire Lord as expected, with the woman rifling through some documents while Zuko leaned over a table. His back was to the door, and only when Lady Ursa welcomed her with a kind word did the man whip around. Closer inspection on Katara's part showed her that he had been looking at a map of reformed Fire Nation colonies.

"It took you long enough," his voice rasped, but his lone brow twitched in amusement. The waterbender was relieved that he was dressed casually as well, his baggy trousers and dark sleeveless tunic reminded her of when he had first joined their 'side.'

"Don't be rude, Zuko," His mother chided, watching him closely. She knew. There was no way on Earth she didn't know. This knowledge dawned upon Katara as the man offered his apologies, he had only been joking, and her eyes locked with the elder woman's for a beat.

_She totally knew._

The Fire Lord kissed his mother on the cheek before ushering the ambassador out the door. He gave a short, nervous bark of a laugh before leading her away by the wrist.

"Mother's a stickler for decorum," he explained, and he muttered something about a procession and formal wear.

"What? Was I supposed to wear something else?" She asked, annoyed that she looked the fool by not being told ahead of time. How much longer would that delay them?

"No, no, I talked her out of it. She wanted it to be good publicity. Unity between countries or something," he supplied quickly, hoping to placate her.

"I'd rather not be swarmed." Katara gave an involuntary shudder. The daily news had a special section dedicated to all things Gaang related, and the reporters were always hungry to get something new. If they got wind of her and Aang...The invasion of privacy made her blanch.

"I thought so." It was short and simple, but it made her steps stutter. He was defying the wishes of his mother for her personal comfort? The mother who he had sought out for so long after the war was ended, whose opinion he valued most?

"You're going to make me her enemy that way," she replied lightly. Zuko looked over his shoulder at her and their pace slowed to a halt. He was thinking, but of what?

"There's no way anyone could think so ill of you. Besides, she approves." He turned away from her, facing the open hallway. A gentle pressure on her wrist reminded the woman that he was still holding her. It was early in the day, and they were already talking about _that?_

"Good to know," she snapped. Maybe it had come out more harsh than intended, but she was fed up with worrying over what everyone thought of her relationships, whoever they were with. A guilty barb pricked at her conscience when his shoulders hunched slightly, his grip on her wrist loosening.

"Sorry, it's just a little..._stressful_ with all of these emotions..." It wasn't a very good explanation, but it was the best she understood the situation herself. Katara moved around to the front of him, placing a reconciliatory hand on his shoulder.

"I get it. I'm not the most patient person, though," Zuko stated flatly.

"After six years of knowing you, I think I knew that," she smirked and he seemed to take heart at her better mood. "Now, how do we get out of this place?"

"We're almost there," he replied, nodding at the large double doors at the end of the hall. "It's a back way, since we're not trying to attract a lot of attention." Agreeing with his plan inwardly, she set off without another word. Purpose fueled her strides, but Zuko was not far behind. Throwing open the doors let in a flood of sunlight so bright that she had to squint.

When her eyes had adjusted, the waterbender saw the stone steps leading down to a path were plain and worn. _A servant's entrance,_ she thought in passing, but they weren't out of the royal complex yet.

Her companion padded down the steps, as if he had done this a hundred times, and followed the path to a back gate. Not knowing exactly where she was going was unnerving, but she walked beside the Fire Lord all the same.

The guards at the gate bowed to their Lord before opening the gates just wide enough for the two of them to slip through, and they were on a populated street before she could blink. The open storefronts were inviting, peddlers crying their wares to passersby.

"Would the pretty lady like a necklace?" They had come out right across from a jeweler, and a man had hobbled over to them. He grinned up at her, but some of his teeth were missing. "Finest jewelry in all the Fire Nation!" She highly doubted it, but this poor man was just trying to make a living.

"She doesn't want anything," Zuko intervened before she could get a word in edgewise. He tried to steer her away from the man - when had Zuko pulled on his hood? - but Katara planted her feet firmly.

"What if I _did_ want something?" She hissed. Who was he to make choices for her? She was more than capable of taking care of herself! Their staring contest lasted a few moments after she whipped around, and he grudgingly gave in. It _was_ her shopping trip, after all.

"Fine," he growled. The man led them into the shop where another, more presentable man stood behind the counter. A glance at the waterbender showed her eyes to be as round as walnuts at the sight of the shining trinkets under glass. Counter Man welcomed them humbly, and the woman wasted no time in her scrutiny.

Zuko was reminded of a toddler in a sweet shop as her eyes darted and stared, the way they lit up unmistakably in an I-want-this way half way down the counter. Counter Man was in front of Katara before the Fire Lord could take two steps, and the merchant was exclaiming over what fine taste she had.

"Oh yes, the finest pearls from the depths of the sea! They would look lovely against your skin." Zuko craned his neck and saw that it was indeed a string of pearls. Pearls didn't really count as finery to him - _they came out of oysters, for Agni's sake_ - but he could think of no one who could wear them better.

_Leave it to her to pick the thing that comes from the sea,_ he mused. _Next thing you know, she'll want her gown made out of seaweed._

Katara felt selfish asking for anything. She was a motherly type, and mothers took care of their wards first. Only, she didn't have anyone to take care of any longer. Sokka would be safe under Suki's supervision, and Toph always made it a point to be overly independent. There was still the hesitancy she had always known as she met Zuko's gaze, and he didn't know what it meant just then.

"Do you like it?" Better to hear her opinion than assume something completely wrong. It wouldn't be the first instance of miscommunication between them. He stood behind her, asking for the necklace. The jeweler handed it over hesitantly, and Zuko fumbled with the clasp before the piece was secured around her neck. Fetching a mirror before young man was finished, Counter Man held it up for Katara's viewing pleasure.

"Oh," she breathed in surprise. Each individual pearl looked like a glowing full moon against her comparatively darker skin. Blinking hard to break the trance, her eyes caught Zuko in the reflection. He seemed hypnotized too, and the way his fingers lingered on the back of her neck was starting to give her goosebumps. "Do you like it?" Her question echoed his.

"It's perfect," he replied, her words bringing him back to reality with a sharp snap. He was reaching for his coin pouch before she even confessed her liking for it. In his opinion, she'd be crazy not to like it. "How much?"

"Five hundred gold, sir," Counter Man replied pleasantly. Money was no object to the Fire Lord, and it was without greed for his coins that he doled out the pieces. The merchant was another matter, and he could barely suppress his excitement at the amount. When the pair turned to go, he snatched up the coins and hardily thanked them for their business.

"I didn't even say I wanted it," Katara pointed out as he stowed the pouched necklace at his waist. He was trying to think of where a reputable seamstress was in their vicinity.

"You'd have to be as blind as Toph to not see how good you made them look," was his response as he steered her around a cart peddling meaty dumplings. His blatant compliment took her off guard and her eyebrows knit in confusion. She didn't have a good comeback for that one.

Zuko took her hand as the streets became progressively more crowded. Allowing him to lead her through tight spaces in the throng for what seemed like an hour, Katara unexpectedly found herself surrounded by dresses on mannequins.

"Hello young ones, may I help you?" A rickety woman with a kind face appeared from behind one of the more elegant pieces. Her dark gray hair was piled haphazardly atop her head, and her beady eyes blinked as she took them in.

"I need a dress," Katara said before her companion could reply for her. He shot her a look that she pointedly ignored. "I was hoping to commission one from you." Zuko wouldn't have taken her here if this woman wasn't one of the best, she assumed.

"Of course dear, of course," the elderly woman beamed. "Now, come into the back and I'll show you some fabric swatches..." She turned without a backward glance, hobbling along and trusting Katara to follow. The waterbender glanced over her shoulder at him, but Zuko shook his head in affirmation that he would stay in the front room.

"Let's start with the color," the shopkeeper smiled and looked up at the young woman expectantly. The back room was large and orderly, the walls lined with cubbies full of fabric, thread, needles, buttons, and whatever else a seamstress might need.

"Blue." Of course it had to be blue, what else would she feel most comfortable in? The elder carefully chose a collection of blue cloth held together with a ring, stating that these were the colors she had access to. There was a lovely blue that Katara associated with the clearest noonday sky, and a deep blue that resembled midnight for the trim.

"What is the occasion, dearie? Are you getting married? Is that your intended, out there?" The old woman gave a sly wink. She knew a matched set when she saw one.

"No no no," Katara declined hurriedly. "We're just friends. It's not like that at all. It's for the masquerade," she explained.

The seamstress was not convinced.

She saw the way he had looked at the young woman who was now standing before her. It was best to let them figure it out, she decided, and displayed a few dress pattern scrolls before the youngster. When the finer details of buttons, embroidery, and measurements were dealt with, the two women returned to the front of the store. Zuko was still standing dutifully in the same place, looking angrily at the floor as if he was arguing with it. His head snapped up when he saw their shadows over the floorboards, his eyes fully interested as he simultaneously tried to look at Katara and hide his scar.

"Your dress will be ready tomorrow before sunset," the seamstress assured, patting Katara's brown hand with her wrinkled one. The Water Tribe woman thanked her graciously, promised their return, and sighed when they were back on the street.

"I suppose I'll have to find something else to wear tonight." Her voice was disappointed, but her face was strong. Zuko was smirking on the inside, secretly relishing the brilliance of his own secret plan.

"I'm sure you'll make do." She always did in any situation. "Let's have lunch, I feel like I was in there _forever_. Those mannequins were really creepy," he explained, catching sight of a street food vendor and coaxing her through the crowd towards him.

"Ugh, no, I _hate_ Fire Nation food," she grumbled when she figured out his plan. "It's always so spicy. How can you taste anything if your mouth is on fire?" The Fire Lord seemingly ignored her as he looked at what the man had to offer, paid for some noodles plus a serving of roasted meat over rice, and gave no sign of hearing her protests when they left.

_If I could find my way back to the palace, I'd leave right now,_ she thought angrily. In the center of the bustling capital was a large green space, filled with stunted trees and happy people. _What in the...?_

"I'm sorry I didn't bring a blanket, but this is the more impromptu part of the day," he shrugged, crossing his legs after settling onto the grass.

"We're having a _picnic?"_ She asked incredulously, her jaw slack for lack of what to make of the man on the ground.

"Why not?" He demanded defensively. Apparently Katara couldn't think of a good reason to say no, so she settled with huffing and sitting hard on the grass. It hurt, but she was mad about being caught off guard so it would be ignored.

"Here, these noodles were the least spicy." Zuko proffered the sealed cup like a peace offering, and she eyed it suspiciously. "And they're really good."

Her stomach made her a traitor to her will, and when it demanded to be fed she gave in. With chopsticks clutched tightly in her hand, she fed a noodle into her mouth cautiously. Her companion nearly laughed at her sheer concentration as she waited for the spice to hit the back of her throat. After a few tense moments, the waterbender relaxed and ate a few more noodles before ravenously diving into the cup.

Then he _did_ laugh. Really, it was more like a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She growled after swallowing a mouthful of soup.

"You're face, ah, no, not like that," he tried to assemble his wits before continuing. "It's just - well, uh - really cute. And expressive."

"I don't think that's something a _friend_ would say, Zuko," the woman mumbled between bites of noodles. Her feelings were decidedly undecided when it came to him. Why did he have to say things like that?

"The 'expressive' part does sound stalker-ish," he conceded after chewing over a piece of meat.

_He's really going to make me say it._

"I mean the part where you called me really cute. You wouldn't call Suki cute."

"She's a betrothed woman."

"Well, you wouldn't call Toph really cute."

"She's not cute, she's terrifying. I'll be right back." Zuko was as composed as if they had been discussing their food, but Katara was on the edge of being incensed. She was too busy fuming over tiny details (which meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, really) to notice why the man had left. He returned with two clay cups filled with tea, offering Katara hers as if nothing was wrong.

_This isn't the way it's supposed to go at all,_ he thought as she glared into her cup, too angry to drink. What was the big deal with saying she looked cute?

"Are we really friends?" His voice was quietly inquisitive, but it only seemed to fuel the waterbender's fire.

"Of course we are," she snapped back. "Don't be so stu-"

"I feel that our relationship is on that fine line between being friends and something more." Zuko raised his voice to cut her sentence short. He couldn't bear to see the face she would make, and instead watched a group of young children run around. Their childish shrieks of delight filled the silence between the two benders while the Tribeswoman worked her mouth soundlessly.

There were so many things that she thought of saying, but none of them justified all of her feelings in one package. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't attracted to him. She had kissed him willingly, for La's sake. Not to mention trying to bed him.

_Temporary insanity,_ a small voice pleaded in the back of her mind. But the jury was out, and Katara was guilty.

Guilty of trying to be happy.

"Is this a..._date?" _The word was foreign on her tongue, and her mouth was strangely dry at the thought. Her? On a date?

"It was supposed to make you happy." His indirect confession was enough to convince her.

"A date. I'm not even wearing nice clothes," she grumbled, glancing down at her casual attire. Strange how that was the thing bothering her now, instead of the fact she was supposed to be on a date. With Zuko.

"I could buy you some," he offered hesitantly. There was no telling what would set Katara off at a good time, and this was not one of those better times. This is what he would call Volatile Katara.

"Yes!" Thankfully she was excited about that thing in particular, but there was an aspect he had yet to explain.

"Whatever you buy will probably be Fire Nation. We don't exactly have all nationalities represented here in the Capital." He tried not to flinch as her eyebrows knit furiously, but they eased without an explosion.

"Yeah, alright. I've worn Fire Nation clothes before."

"When?" The first thought he had was the woman dressed in Azula's clothes.

_Super creepy,_ he thought before gulping the last of his tea.

"During the war for a disguise. And when I have nothing cooler left to wear when I'm here," she shrugged. The young man struggled to find a scrap of memory to back up her story, but there was none to be had. He wasn't exactly eager to begin the rigors of shopping again, but the curiosity of seeing Katara in his native color was almost distracting. Forcing himself to slow down and enjoy the moment, he set his cup aside and laid down on the plush grass.

_No reason to rush. We have the whole day._

Zuko laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the cloudless sky. Not entirely certain of what to do, he turned his head towards his friend and raised his brow in a silent question. Heaving what sounded like a frustrated sigh, Katara flopped onto her back gracelessly, throwing her arms out beside her. She refused to look, but the fingers on her left hand were surely close to brushing the side of his shirt.

"How long has it been since you thought of yourself?" He asked offhandedly. She jerked her head to look at him, warily assessing his face. Zuko could feel her gaze, and continued when she said nothing. "I know you're always taking care of others. It's okay to be selfish once in a while." That was the exact inner turmoil she had been grappling with earlier. Could he read her mind? How did he know?

"It feels like forever," she admitted wistfully. Her head was directed back at the sky, but her eyes were far away. "Ever since mom..." Life itself had never been the same. Gran Gran had been there to take over the womanly duties, but she wasn't as young as she used to be. Katara had come of age earlier than need be, but then again, most children of war do.

"It's not like that now. We're at the edge of being adults. You can't boss Sokka around forever, now that he's got Suki." The corners of his mouth turned up into the slightest smile, thinking of how well the Kyoshi warrior kept him in line already.

"By tradition in the Tribes, I should have a family by now." The Northern Water Tribe had girls engaged on their sixteenth birthday, and though it was not as strictly enforced in the South, it was encouraged. In the past she had had Aang, but he always felt too young to be a man in her book. Besides, traveling the world didn't sound conducive to raising a family.

"Is that what you're going to do? Go back and find a husband?" Zuko's voice was dry; the very thought of her with another guy made his body rigid with jealousy. Returning the the South and marrying some guy was an option, but not at all attractive to Katara.

"Most, if not all, of the men around my age are already married. And I don't want some pompous snot from the North telling me bending is a man's job," she grimaced. After such wonderful years of freedom, a marriage to a controlling husband was a poor life choice.

"Haru seems like a nice guy," the firebender grunted in return. Would it be wrong to remind her of how _he_ needed a wife?

"He insists that mustache makes him super handsome, but it looks funny to me." She wrinkled her nose at the thought of his facial hair, and then there was the fact that he and Toph had a 'history' together.

"Lee, then?"

"I barely even know him!" Katara threw up her hands in vexation, letting them fall uselessly to the ground when her point had been made. "Besides, he ditched me last night."

_Why hasn't he suggested the most obvious choice?_

"Then we should ditch him tonight." It was now or never. This was the perfect moment in the conversation to introduce his intended surprise, and it wouldn't happen twice.

"What?" The young woman propped herself up on her elbows, suspicious and yet undeniably curious.

"My surprise. I wanted to take you out for some fun tonight." He licked his lips nervously, rolling onto his side to face her.

"I'm listening."

"Dancing. Like how people our age are supposed to dance, not that formal masquerade stuff."

"You want to take me to a _bar?"_

"It's not a bar exactly. More dancing than drinking. They call it a club." Something about Katara made his sentences short and choppy, turning him into sixteen year old Zuko rather than Fire Lord Zuko. He tried to make his face look hopeful, but something must have gone horribly wrong because she was smirking.

"What's that face you're making?"

"It's my hopeful face. Like, hopefully you won't bend me into oblivion for asking you out on a date." He relaxed his features into their natural frowny state when she laughed. "Don't laugh, I thought I gave a good impression."

"You should really try it out in front of a mirror. _Then_ tell me not to laugh at you," she snorted. "Sure, I'll go dancing with you. Suki was curious about it anyway." Yeah, like she needed an excuse. Her friend had told her that it was best to leave a man guessing, and that was the goal. Katara stifled the smile trying to creep onto her face, and she sat up before it could break free. Fun and a date in one day? This was simply too much.

"Great," he said, following her up into the sitting position.

"You have some grass..." Before she knew what she was doing, her hand was brushing away a few blades of grass from his hood. Normally it would be out of maternal instinct if it was anyone else, but there was nothing motherly in the way she felt at that moment. Katara's heart skipped a beat as his golden eyes watched her arm retreat quickly, following some invisible line to her face.

"I think we should head out," she said, practically jumping to her feet. It was more than a little alarming that she felt those feelings; the way her heart beat rapidly in her chest. His assent was in the form of joining her with their food containers, disposing of them as they passed a receptacle.

"I think there's a women's boutique down this way," he said vaguely, looking down one of the streets that seemed more crowded than the one they had come from. The silence between them was almost uncomfortable, and Katara grabbed his hand when the crowd became thick.

_I have no idea what I'm doing,_ she thought, looking up at Zuko's hooded face.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, so this chapter was a bit boring for my taste, but it was one of those things that had to be written, y'know? I threw in that bit at the end for you guys, though. The next one will be better/more interesting, I promise! Thanks for reading! :]**


	11. Pushy

**A/N: Awesome, chapter 11! Really can't believe I've made it this far! Let's keep it up! Thank you all for your lovely reviews for the last chapter, they made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Cookies for everyone! XD**

**In response to a couple of reviews:**

**As to when Aang will make his grand entrance...I've got something delicious planned! Ohoho! ;)**

**As far as Zuko and Katara's relationship goes, it's pretty up in the air. Katara's hesitant, but Zuko is full throttle! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't red is really my color..." Katara felt like she had been repeating herself far too many times, but the saleswoman never seemed to hear it. This was the fifth outfit she had tried on, the previous four rejected for their lack of decency or downright unattractiveness. Something about Fire Nation clothes was just so _tacky._ She felt bad for making Zuko wait outside, and the fact that she hadn't shown off any of the clothing was a touch rude.

_Why should I show him anyway? Not like his opinion decides anything,_ she thought stubbornly. Every now and then, when the attendant slid back the thick curtain to enter her dressing room, she caught a glimpse of the young Fire Lord sitting upon a round ottoman. The last time she had seen him, his arms had been crossed over his chest and he was jiggling his leg out of habit. Whether he was annoyed, bored, or apprehensive about being in the decidedly girly store, Katara was unsure. _My time, not his._

"Red is _everyone's _color," the attendant insisted, securing the midriff halter top from behind with a final tug. This red was more of a burgundy, matching the cropped pants under the brighter red skirt. To complete the look, the woman tied Katara's hair into a topknot with deft hands. Admittedly, this was the best combination she had come across thus far. She twisted around, checking her backside for anything unsightly in the mirror.

Bindings not showing: check.

Fabric laying correctly: check.

Body shape flattered: check.

Not that she found the way her body curved to be unsightly, but it was different dressing a woman rather than a girl. Placing her hands on her hips, she strutted around the spacious room before deciding that it also passed the 'comfortable' test.

"I'll take this one," she told the patiently waiting woman with a grin. The saleswoman left in a flurry, telling the clerk at the desk the amount her total would cost.

"Don't I at least get to look at what I'm paying for?" She heard Zuko growl to the clerk, but she knew it was directed towards her. Katara had planned to change into her new clothes later, but it would be easier to keep them on now. What about the clothes she had worn here? She bit her lip in thought of the dilemma, drawing back the curtain after said clothes had been gathered into her arms.

Needless to say, the eyeful that Zuko got satisfied all his imaginings and more. Even though she wasn't looking at him when she stepped out, he was looking at her. Well, more like staring. The furrow in his brow had smoothed out, the pouch of coins still held tightly in his hand all but forgotten. He _had _seen her in red, before the Comet.

"What about these clothes?" She asked him as she approached, clutching the familiar clothing to her chest and looking at him for the first time. He wanted to curse every spirit that he hadn't seen her in red more often, and then praise them because it was happening now. _Agni, how she looks good in red._

"I'll have them sent back to the palace," he said in a low voice upon returning to himself. He didn't want everyone knowing who they were; no need to go shouting it from the roof tops.

"I'm not really sure red suits me," Katara confessed. Maybe it wasn't too late to back out of this. Her new shoes felt strange with the subtle point at the end, and the strap at her heel made her feel vulnerable.

"More than you know." His face was so intently serious that she felt embarrassed to look at him, and she averted her gaze to her hands until they departed. It did not go unnoticed by her, though, that he had slipped in a few extra coins for her blue clothes to be taken to the palace.

_Now what should we do?_ He thought, stepping out into the street after grasping her hand. There were a number of things happening in the capital at different times of the year. Considering that it was early autumn, late summer...maybe it wasn't too late to catch a Fire Lily Festival? Zuko hadn't seen any signs of the celebration, but then again, he hadn't been looking. While he stopped a man to ask for information, Katara let her mind wander.

_I should probably make up my mind about him_, she thought. _I mean, it wouldn't be too bad to just try it out._ _Right?_ It's not like they were going to be engaged to be married. Dating was casual, loose even, in comparison to engagement. _I still have my people. _Yes, she would not abandon her people if she had anything to say about it.

Before she could get any further in deciding, Zuko was tugging at her hand, and they were off once more. He seemed to know where he was going, but Katara was annoyed at not being informed as to their destination. She stopped abruptly in the crowded street, causing several people around her to swerve so they didn't run into her.

Her guide stopped too, his fingers were loose around her hand with her sudden halt and his mouth opened to ask just what she thought she was doing. Surely she knew that stopping in the middle of a bustling street was _not_ a good idea. But before he could speak his mind, she spoke hers.

"Where are we going?" The woman's voice was tight with irritation. Not a good sign. In her own defense, Katara was not familiar with the capital and therefore felt very unsafe with all of the tall stone buildings and mobs of people.

It wasn't like in Ba Sing Se, where there were three tiers separated by class and therefore the streets were less crowded. Here, it was all a large jumble of people. Not that she minded rubbing elbows with beggars, but the war had left people in desperation if they had chosen the wrong side. What if they recognized her or Zuko? She didn't even have her water skin for protection! Her eyes were wild like a cornered animal's, her grip unconsciously tightening on Zuko's hand.

"We're going a few blocks over. It's lucky that we came into the city today, because it's the last day of the Fire Lily Festival," he said slowly. Clearly something was going horribly wrong in her mind, and harsh words wouldn't do them any good in this situation. He had years of experience that vouched for this line of thinking. In fact, it was almost a perfected art by now. "Have you ever seen a Fire Lily?"

"Of course," she snapped. Katara thought back to the field full of the flowers, and how Hama taught her that water could be found anywhere. Not to mention bloodbending. "How could I spend so much time in the Fire Nation without seeing one?" She rolled her eyes. A flower festival? It sounded totally lame.

"Well you've obviously never been to a Fire Lily Festival, because you'd be _begging _me to hurry along," he growled.

"Ha! Like I'd ever _beg_ you for anything!" Katara gave a derisive snort. "Besides, they're just a bunch of flowers."

"Flowers that happen to be a symbol of my nation." They also happened to be a symbol of fiery passion, but that was beside the point. She could mock him all she wanted, but beating up on his Fire Nation pride? Not to be tolerated. And the waterbender knew she had crossed a line, because even though she stood there still looking angry, there was a trace of guilt now in her features.

"Fine. Whatever. Stupid flowers..." She grumbled to herself and bumped Zuko's shoulder with her own, encouraging him to continue on. He settled for one last hard look - he couldn't hate her no matter what she did - before tugging her through the crowd once more.

"Customarily, festivals are held at night. This is one of the few exceptions because the lilies close up when the sun goes down," he lectured. Was that his Fire Lord voice he using on her? Ugh. Why did she agree to this?

_Stay positive, Katara,_ she told herself. _Maybe the flowers wouldn't be so bad. Besides, what else is there to do here?_

"He said it was just around...here. What do you think?"

Zuko had just pulled her onto a wide side street when he asked, staring down its length. The red lilies were everywhere - in garlands along the building fronts, climbing columns in masses, hanging pellmell from unsuspecting places, and even the festival goers had the flowers hanging from them in chains. Sweets stands were the primary food source, and they were accompanied by peddlers selling flowers in all forms. Crowns, necklaces, bouquets - you name it, they had it. The best part of all, everyone looked _happy. _Children shouting in delight between their parents, young couples were shyly holding hands, and a group of friends shared a good laugh.

"It's hard to believe something so nice would come from the Fire Nation," she murmured. Katara knew that all Fire Nation people were not out for blood, it was just hard to swallow when you always thought them the enemy since you were old enough to understand.

"One of our better qualities," he agreed. His mother loved Fire Lilies. How could anything his mother loved be bad? That begged the question: did she ever love Ozai? His stomach clenched at the thought of the man. "Come on, let's look at the flowers."

All kinds of people filled the street, and of all ages. Rich and poor, young and old, and all were happy. Zuko determined the first flower seller to have inadequate goods, claiming they were too wilted though they looked fine to Katara. On their meandering from peddler to peddler, the waterbender's ears picked up the aged voice of a storyteller.

" - and they loved each other very much. They had a duty to uphold, though, and could not be together. The sky goddess had to make clouds and bring up the sun, while the earth god had to nurture the plants and help them grow."

Katara pulled at her companions sleeve, not taking her eyes from the decrepit old man once she had caught sight of him. A captivated young audience sat before him, and he was sitting elevated on a stone slab.

"The sky goddess became very sad, and she only made storm clouds with her tears. She sent so many storms that it began to flood the earth. Her beloved cried out, drowning in the rains she sent down. He begged her to stop, because she was killing all of the plants and animals. Especially the one flower that he had made specifically for her." The storyteller whipped out a Fire Lily from under his cloak. "The Fire Lily, a sign of their passionate love. The goddess stopped her crying, and she is comforted in this beautiful flower every year."

The elderly man bowed his head in acknowledgement as the cheers of the audience ricocheted off of the wall behind him. Katara was one of those people, her enthusiastic claps melding with others. Who knew the Fire Nation could have such a romantic mythology? The pair dispersed with the crowd, children twirling red ribbons on sticks wildly.

_This doesn't really have that date vibe,_ Zuko thought. It seemed that the day was a lot of bickering like they usually did. They were holding hands, but how could he take it to another level? His eyes darted around for inspiration, and he nearly whacked his forehead for his own stupidity. _Of course._ He stopped her at a flower peddler, and asked her opinion.

"I want to get my mother something, but I'm not sure what she'd like. What do you think?" The Fire Lord was hoping that, in his round about way of asking her what she wanted, he could surprise her in the end.

"Hm? Oh, I don't know. You know her better than I do," Katara replied absently, fingering the silky petals of a lone lily. _I wonder if he'll buy me a flower?_

"I thought you would know. Being a girl and all." He didn't want to ask her outright, but the waterbender was oblivious to his secret plan so far.

"We're not all the same," she frowned, still staring at the flower. Her eyes were narrowed though, and Zuko had to give up the charade if he wanted to avoid another conflict.

"That's not what I - look, I'm trying to buy something for you without you knowing. Like a surprise," he grumped, because Fire Lords did not pout. But he did look like a small child who was trying to tell you something you already knew.

"Oh." Needless to say she was taken aback. For some reason, she had thought Zuko would be better at romance. Or maybe it was she who was doing it wrong? No, she was a girl, and romance was therefore her forte by default. "This one." It was the single flower she had been focused on the whole time, and he paid the man before she could change her mind.

"Here..." Zuko snatched up the lily and stopped her in the shadow of a building before they had gotten far. He shortened the stem, trying to secure the flower behind her ear. That was romantic, right? She laughed at his fumbled attempts, and guided his hand so that the flower was well placed. His hand lingered only because her own covered it lightly, her temperature tepid compared to his firebender's natural heat. Katara was smiling up at him - _Did she ever smile like that at me before? -_ and her eyes looked softer in the early afternoon light.

His hand escaped her touch by trailing down her jawline, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. _What a peculiar sensation,_ she thought. He stopped with her chin held between his finger and thumb, and she couldn't miss his eyes on her lips. _This is where we should kiss..._

"You look absolutely radiant when you smile," he said instead. It wasn't a lie, because it lit up her whole face and became quite contagious. He wanted to kiss her, but he had no idea where she stood on public displays of affection. Or how she might choose to go off on him this time for his boldness. He could wait.

Katara was worried. The fact that she had wanted him to kiss her was troubling, but the worst part is that she had been _disappointed_ when it didn't happen. What was wrong with her? Yes, he was an undeniably good kisser, and she attributed the weird feelings she got when they kissed to that fact. (She was **not**attracted to him. Physically or romantically. Not at all whatsoever.) So why was she feeling so let down?

"Do you know how ridiculous you sound?" Katara snorted. Who used "radiant" to describe anyone outside of a romance scroll?

Zuko's heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. Everything had been going smoothly yesterday. They danced, they kissed, they had fun. Now, everything was crashing down around his ears. They argued, they glared, they pouted. Her moodiness just confused him even more. Didn't girls like compliments? _Why is she making this so difficult?_

"I didn't know paying you a compliment was such a horrible thing. I'll keep that in mind." He didn't feel guilty (okay, maybe a little) when Katara looked hurt. She recovered quickly, though. As if he expected anything less. "We don't have to go dancing. It was a stupid idea anyway," the young man continued dismissively, frustration boiling just beneath the surface.

"No!" Katara said quickly, and maybe too loudly since people were looking at them now. "I mean, I want to go. I haven't really done anything like people our age are supposed to do in a long time." What with being wrapped up in the South Pole or in delicate negotiations, her life didn't leave much time for being carefree. It was now or never if she wanted that opportunity.

"It will probably be a waste of time," he said, but he had hope. At least he had another chance to...do what, exactly? Sweep her off her feet? Zuko settled for 'showing her a good time,' because it sounded the closest to what he wanted: for her to be happy.

"Everything that interferes with your duties is a waste of time," she retorted, but it sounded more witty than angry. The smirk on her lips was also a cue that she was willing to forget whatever she had been snippy about before, in order to be more amicable.

"Work has a tendency to pile up if it doesn't get finished," he commented dryly, thinking how backed up the system was, even with his mother doing her best. He did not regret the masquerade, however, because it had given him someone invaluable. They would have come together, regardless. Something told him it was destiny.

_Destiny is a funny thing._

Oh, how right Uncle was.

"Well, what's next?" Katara asked, bringing him out of his reverie. Her large blue eyes were expectant and trusting. Zuko couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for her. The woman's trust had not been easy to earn, and he was grateful to have it.

"Do you, uh, want some mochi?" He asked after spotting a nearby sweets cart.

"I don't think I should..." The woman patted her hip experimentally. "It'll just go straight to my hips. I'm already getting chubby." Not that she had anything to be concerned about; she was still young and bending practice kept her in shape. The firebender merely gave her a blank face, as if to say that what she implied was simply ludicrous and he would have none of it.

_Besides, I happen to like your hips the way they are._

"You're starting to look a bit pudgy yourself," she teased, pinching his cheek lightly. "Too many late night snacks for the fearless leader?"

"I think you could use some fattening up. Just look at your shoulders." He completely ignored her playful jab and focused on his own offense, poking his finger at the dimple on her back where the ball joint met the shoulder blade.

"I just have boney shoulders!"

"One little piece won't make you as big as Appa. We could split a big one," Zuko said, making the suggestion sound more like a command as he steered her by the shoulders.

"You know, you've been quite pushy today," she accused, but it didn't seem to phase him in the least.

"Sometimes you need to be pushed, Miss Stubborn Britches." He would have shrugged, but he was still holding Katara by her shoulders even though they were now in line.

"Oh, so now _you're_ giving nicknames?"

"I'm pretty sure Toph has called you that before."

"Not to my face," she sulked, settling for crossing her arms. Truthfully, she wanted that mochi so bad her mouth watered at the idea. It was just fun to try and get a rise out of Zuko nowadays, since he had been working on his anger problems. The man in question rested his chin atop her head, pressing his chest to her back as he tried to see what sort of flavors the peddler was offering.

"He has red bean, green tea, and mango," Zuko informed her, the hum of his voice feeling strange on her head. "Sorry, no sea prunes."

"Shut it," she growled. Red bean was her personal favorite, but the green tea flavor wasn't bad either. Mango was a new concept, however, and she _did _like mangos...

"Alright, which one?" Sooner than Katara had anticipated, they were at the head of the line and the decision was hers. When Zuko released her from his clutches, the warmth was missed but she was in calm denial.

"Mango, please," she said brightly to the vendor, and the exchange of money for the rice cake was completed. The confection was wrapped in a leaf, and upon opening it in an out of the way place, a thought occurred to the Fire Lord.

"It would be easier for you to eat half and give the rest to me, instead of tearing it apart. The filling might spill out..." He frowned at his lack of foresight, but proffered the sweet to her mouth nonetheless.

"I can feed myself," she said, as if it wasn't obviously clear. Suki had told her that men liked the chase, and she was certainly leading Zuko on one heck of a pursuit. His patience persevered as he explained his logic.

"This is a date. It's just something cutesy that people do. Now that I think about it, you might try to bite my fingers off."

Katara couldn't help but laugh. She was more used to Sokka's brand of brash hilarity, but Zuko's quirky sarcasm was just as delightful. The waterbender opted for taking her half of the mochi in one obscenely large bite, to Koh with manners!

His lone eyebrow twitched in surprise before popping the rest into his own mouth, the flavors of mango curd mixed with red bean paste exploding on his tongue. Savoring the sweet flavor as he chewed the glutinous rice cake, Zuko mentally confirmed mango mochi as his favorite. Katara was munching happily, eyes creased in pure delight at her own excellent choice. Sometimes it was good to take a risk, she decided. Whether the risk concerned mochi flavors or dating guys, however, was a very different matter. Before she had even swallowed her bite, Zuko had downed his portion and was looking at her strangely.

"What, I don't have a very big mouth," she tried to say, thinking that his staring must be at her exaggerated chewing motions. Her words came out unintelligible around the mochi, which resulted in a smirk from her would-be mocker and face reddening on her part. She couldn't make up her mind to be angry or embarrassed.

"There's, uh..." He gestured to his face, hoping she would understand that in her large bite, she managed to smear some filling just beyond the corner of her lip. This was the most graceful way he could think to alert her without embarrassing her, but Katara didn't seem to get the hint. Instead, she continued to glare at him.

Unfazed by it - really, what else was new? - he opted for wiping it away on his own. She probably, no, _definitely_ wouldn't take kindly to such a personal gesture, but he didn't see any way around it at the moment.

Rather than knit her brows further, the woman's face went unexpectedly blank. Well, her eyes still flickered with life, but not with anger. The first word that came to mind was intense, as if he were a scroll she was studying or a particularly interesting painting.

_Is that a good thing?_

Katara had stopped chewing upon feeling his thumb near the corner of her mouth. She didn't realize her breathing had stopped until her lungs began to tingle. It was as if she was captivated, wondering what he would do next to surprise her, to surpass all of her low expectations.

"Some filling. On your face. I got it." Zuko held her gaze with uncertainty, the mango curd still damp on his thumb. _Great, what am I supposed to do with it now? _

He couldn't just wipe it on his shirt and go around the rest of their date looking like a slob, even if it would just be a tiny spot. For lack of a better alternative, he broke their eye contact and quickly licked off the problematic filling. She swallowed her bite with a gulp.

"You're funny when you don't know what to do," Katara said suddenly, her calm face wrinkled by her amused smile.

"Well if you knew you had stuff on your face, I wouldn't have been in that situation," he replied in his defense. "You were practically asking for it."

"Right. I was sooooasking for it because you're too polite to let me go around with food on my face?" She snorted. No _way _was she taking the blame. "Are you sure I don't have any leftovers from lunch either?" Katara wiped her face, making a show of scrubbing at a nonexistent crumb.

"I was just trying to look out for you - "

"I can take care of myself!"

"I know," Zuko sighed. "And you take care of everyone else too. Let me take care of you, so you don't have to?" Pride dictated that he should not be asking her permission, that he should do it regardless. Something else, probably his Uncle's advice, told him to communicate honestly with this woman. He cautiously took her hand in his own, relaxing when she did not resist. The touch felt natural, their hands fitting together like two jigsaw pieces.

"That's such a dumb thing to ask," she mumbled, turning her head away from him in embarrassment. Secretly, she was pleased. The world could be thoroughly enjoyed without so much weight on your shoulders. Not that he would do much - really, she could take care of everything herself - but the gesture was not overlooked. A tiny smile escaped her before it could be quelled, because she was too busy looking at the young man out of the corner of her eye.

_He's sweet,_ she decided quietly as he shrugged off her comment.

"I didn't know we had been here so long." Zuko was looking at the sun, which was just reaching the skyline of the city. They must have been wandering around for quite a while. "We could eat, if you're hungry."

_Does he think I'm a pig with an insatiable appetite?_ Katara thought. It felt like they had just eaten lunch, and she was still full, so she shook her head. What else could they do to kill time?

"I've never seen the monument for Avatar Roku," she hinted, remembering it to be a popular tourist attraction. Whenever she came to the Fire Nation to fulfill her ambassador duties, she rarely went out into the capital city. Now was the perfect time to take in the sights.

"Really? I thought you would've gone with...someone else," he finished lamely, trying to avoid anything that had to do with Aang. Seeing the monument might not be the best plan, now that he thought about it.

"No. Sokka says it's really something."

To steer clear of the inevitable tense silence, Zuko started talking about random passersby, pointing out their different indicators of what class they belonged to. The one that made her laugh was a fat, balding man who was trying to pass for a noble. His costume jewelry might have fooled anyone who glanced at him, but the Fire Lord could tell what his real status was by the age of his shoes.

"So, let's go see Avatar Roku," he said after her recovery. "It really is an impressive sight."

"Alright. Lead on, Oh Mighty Fire Lord," she grinned, adding a formal curtsy suited more for court than a side street.

"Watch it! Do you want everyone to know who I am?" He asked, hastily reclaiming her hand. She had let go of his hand to execute her curtsy, but allowed herself to be collected once more. Hand holding was nice and innocent and hardly something to worry about, she thought. Besides, she liked how he radiated heat. Firebenders were _weird, _but a good weird.

Making sure his companion wouldn't be causing any more mischief for a while, he merged with the people on the street and led her along as before. The crowd contained considerably less people than earlier, likely due to the approaching darkness, and they could now easily walk side by side.

"How do you even know where you're going?" Katara asked as they forked to the right when the street gave them the option. The thought just occurred to the Water Tribe woman that just because he lived in the palace didn't mean he knew how to get around the city.

"This is my city. Why shouldn't I know my way around?"

"How many times have you been out in the city before you were banished, honestly?"

"A handful."

"And how many times since you've been crowned?"

"...More than a few."

When Katara looked up at him, Zuko looked guarded. Which obviously meant he was keeping a super interesting secret from her. Time to put her womanly charms to good use.

"Zuko, what are you hiding from me?" Her voice was suddenly a soft purr, making him wary. The sneaky Fire Lord knew exactly what her game was. Katara saw he was steeling himself like she was about to water whip him, and tried a different approach. "I can't _believe_ you'd keep secrets from me," she pouted, jutting her lower lip out. Now he wasn't looking at her at all, meaning she must be close to breaking him. Abruptly, Katara maneuvered herself in front of him, effectively stopping his forward motion.

"How many times do I have to tell you: we can't stop in the middle of the street." He was firm, but the scolding lacked influence due to the lack of eye contact. Currently he seemed preoccupied with something just above her head.

"Zuko," she said, sounding so heartbroken he couldn't help but look at her.

That would be his undoing.

Her polar bear puppy eyes were in full swing, complete with half formed tears in her large blue eyes. He wondered if any man could resist that look. Not the Cabbage Merchant Guild, and certainly not him.

"Okay, okay, just stop. You look like I just killed your favorite penguin or something."

The waterbender immediately brightened, unshed tears evaporating like a puddle in the summer months and a broad grin lighting up her face. _Much better,_ he thought, and stepped around her to continue their trek.

"When I was a refugee in the Earth Kingdom, back in the war, I had to sneak around to steal stuff. Clothes, food, and supplies Uncle and I needed to survive. That time in my life was still fresh in my mind when I ascended the throne, so I'd go out at night and get to know the city better in secret."

"Wouldn't everyone know your face?"

"I wore a mask that - uh - I threw in a lake. But I make sure to keep my face covered." How stupid could he be? He had almost told her about his Blue Spirit mask, and if she made the connection to "Lee" and his mask...he didn't want to think about it.

Before she could ask another question, they came out into a large, flat space with a statue in the center. The likeness of Avatar Roku loomed over them, his shadow nearly to the edge of the surrounding buildings. A ring of fire wrapped around the base of the statue, which was on a craggy sort of island in the middle of a large pool. All of the elements were represented, the element of air being all around them.

"He looks very serious," Katara pondered aloud, pausing at the edge of the placid water. The tales she had heard of Roku depicted him as a kinder man than this stoic portrayal.

"It's lucky Sozin didn't have it demolished. They used to be friends until he wanted to take over the world." Zuko joined her at the waters edge, staring up into the stone face.

"That's what I've heard," the woman confirmed, her hand swirling in the air above the water. She watched it dance to her will in the gathering darkness, the sun sinking below the skyline. He was the first to break the silence.

"I know it's not dark just yet, but we can still go to the club." It felt wrong to be speaking of such a modern, reckless, young activity in the presence of the former Avatar for some reason. Maybe it was just his imagination.

"Might as well," she shrugged, but Katara felt a tingle of excitement. "What's this place called anyway?"

"The Hot Spot."

She snorted. "Does everything in the Fire Nation have to be named in relation to fire?"

"Tradition," he explained simply. It didn't bother him in the least. "I bet you have a hundred words for snow."

"There are a lot of different types!" Katara protested to Zuko's back as he started walking away without her.

"Whatever. Are you coming or not?" He asked over his shoulder, not slowing his stride. She had to jog to catch up.

"It's _my_ day to have fun. Of course I'm coming." She rolled her eyes, and the firebender simply smirked. What a pair they made in the dusk.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know I promised that there would be better stuff in this chapter but...(I lied). **

**I'M SO SORRY. **

**See? I used my capslock to show you how sorry I am! Next chapter, I double pinky promise! Because they will actually make it to the 'club.' (wtf am I even thinking, bringing that into the story?)**

**Thanks for being patient with the chapters! I'm moving into my new apartment on Sunday, but hopefully you'll have a new chapter by next Friday! I start back to school on the 22nd. Boo. I'll still be writing, it just might come out slower! Thanks for reading, much love to you all! :D**


	12. Selfish

**A/N: Told ya I wouldn't be updating for a while. Honestly I expected it to be two weeks max, but it never came together! So, here it is, a month later. Thank you all for your patience, I hope I don't disappoint!**

* * *

It was a good thing Katara's shoes were comfortable. To her, it seemed that Roku's monument was on the opposite side of the city for the distance they had cleared. By the time they arrived at their destination, the sun had fully set. She squinted hard at the building, but it looked like any other in the Fire Nation: pointy, tall, and mostly red. Only the sign gave it away. Really, who could miss the large characters spelled out in flame?

_The Hot Spot._

She couldn't suppress the eye roll. It was so lame that _Sokka_ could've thought of a better name. Maybe. They weren't even inside and she could feel the beat of a large drum echoing through her body.

_What kind of place is this?_

While Katara was happy to take a place in the line waiting to get in, Zuko would have none of it. It wasn't that he thought himself terribly important, but it would be a long wait just to get in. This night had to be so fantastic, Katara would be _begging_ for another date. Besides, the bouncer didn't look so tough.

_I'm the Fire Lord, for Agni's sake. _

"I'm sure you recognize this woman," Zuko said to the burly guard without any introduction, bringing Katara to his side in the bright fire light. They should be able to get in on her prestige alone, and nobody would have to know Fire Lord Zuko was skipping out on his very expensive party.

"Can't say I do, stranger," the man replied unapologetically. He was all muscle, but Zuko had taken down men larger than this one. In truth, Zuko did look a touch sketchy with his hood pulled up.

"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, waterbending master. Nice to meet you," she smiled sweetly, holding out her hand for the bouncer to shake. Katara didn't know what her friends plan was, but she surmised it had something to do with keeping his identity a secret.

Everyone Katara introduced herself to had their own reaction, but stunned silence accompanied by a slack jaw and stuttering was common. That's why it came as a surprise when the bouncer threw back his head and laughed. He pointed to a group of women loitering in the shadows, all dressed in blue with their skin tinted dark.

"If I had a copper piece for every woman pretending to be her, I'd be a rich man. Back of the line," he growled, pointing with a meaty finger. Indignant at being called a liar and a fraud, Katara called to the liquid closest at hand. No puddles were present, which she preferred, but there was a bottle of liquor in the hands of a man a few yards back. With smooth, rapid motions, her hands commanded the alcohol into the water whip she was famous for while her feet shifted into her bending stance.

"Can any of your impostors do _that?" _She asked smugly. Clearly they could not, because the man immediately recognized his error. It turned out he was the groveling type.

It was almost embarrassing the way he carried on, as if she intended to use the whip against him. To show she meant no harm Katara released the liquor, much to the discontent of the man whose bottle it came from. His drunken shouts were quelled by a threatening glare of the bouncer, and he bowed Master Katara and her guest into the building.

"I can't believe other women would try to pass themselves off as me, just to get into this place!" She huffed, ready to tear the place apart with her criticism.

The ground floor was crowded with people. Dancing, lounging, drinking, talking. You name it, they were probably doing it. The most popular activity was dancing, but it was hard to tell if they were dancing or having seizures, thanks to the methodic bursts of fire in the dimness. And that drum! If Katara thought it was loud before, it was deafening now. In fact, Zuko probably hadn't heard her discontent.

Looking back at him, she saw that his hood had been lowered and he was making the same inventory she had before her thoughts interrupted. His wandering eyes stopped at her, and she could have sworn there was a sudden softness there. Of course, it was too dark to discern anything.

_Stupid light playing tricks on me,_ she grumbled inwardly.

"Where do we begin?" Katara raised her voice to be heard over the incessant pounding of the bass. Instead of making a verbal reply, Zuko nodded his head at the bar behind her. Rolling her eyes, she followed his lead through the crowd.

The music was more like a dull throb at this distance, and while he was ordering a drink she leaned against the counter top a few feet away and looked out at the people. She felt safer with the majority of the people in front of her and within view.

"Do you want to try some?" Zuko was wearing an uncharacteristically _happy_ smirk, if smirks could be happy. Katara peered into the small glass and sniffed, since the physical traits were hard to determine. She recoiled quickly, a look of absolute disgust painting her face. He laughed, _actually_ _laughed_, as if that had been the desired reaction. It probably was, knowing him.

"What _is_ that...concoction?" There was no better word for it, in Katara's mind. If it smelled so sharply of smoke and spices, what would it taste like? Her nose tickled with the burning sensation from the little whiff.

"We call it Dragon's Breath. It's very potent." Now he looked more like normal Zuko, looking composed as he swirled the alcohol in the cup. "And after a long day of following you around the capital, I need a stiff drink." Without any more ceremony, he tilted his head back and shot the drink to the back of his throat.

Katara frowned at him, because really, he had been the one toting her around all day. She was waiting for the Fire Lord to react to the burning sensation that was surely hitting his throat by now. He appeared unfazed, though, and was going back for another.

"Do you want something?"

Katara shook her head hesitantly. Someone had to be the responsible, sober adult here. And if that Dragon's Breath was as strong as he claimed, that adult wouldn't be Zuko. He shrugged and was swallowed up by unknown faces almost immediately as he continued his quest.

In the meanwhile, Katara returned to people-watching. Over on the dance floor, the promiscuous twirling of hips reminded her vaguely of waterbending, but with your hips. She snorted at the ridiculous thought of trying to waterbend that way, but it seemed effective for manipulating the guys.

_You don't need bloodbending to make him do what you want,_ Suki's advice reminded her. Maybe this is what she meant? _The movements don't look difficult,_ she thought as she studied further. But those women were getting very intimate with their male counterparts. Perhaps a drink would be better for her courage after all.

"Hey Toots, you're lookin' fine." Before she knew it, Katara was flanked by two strange young men. Cursing herself for her inattention, she tried to smile at the one who had spoken. Maybe if she humored them, they'd leave her alone.

"Hi there, guys," she replied awkwardly.

"Can we buy you a drink?" The other asked, and his smile was definitely giving Katara the creeps.

"Er, no thanks. Hey, have you seen my boyfriend around here?" Hopefully Zuko wouldn't be too mad. The boyfriend bit was usually a good way of keeping guys disinterested, but the two strangers didn't even blink. She craned her neck to see past the guy on her left, but he stepped to block her view. Why did she have to leave her water skin behind?

"Don't worry babe, we'll make much better boyfriends. We'll take care of you." The young man blocking her would-be view of Zuko was making an attempt at seduction, but it wasn't working. At all. Panic started to build in her stomach. Where was Zuko? Shouldn't he be back by now? Her arms were stiff and while a tiny voice shouted at her to bend the nearby liquor at them, her flight sense was kicking in.

"I don't think that will be necessary," a familiar voice growled from behind the leftmost creeper. He whirled around in surprise to come face to face with a furious Zuko. "You two better get out of here." As if his low growl wasn't menacing enough, a tongue of fire flickered his fist as he cracked the knuckles of his other hand.

The guy on Katara's right looked like he was going to challenge Zuko, but the other young man was completely convinced that Katara was not worth the effort and quickly made his exit. His companion, unwilling to face the challenger alone, ran after him.

"Boyfriend?" Was the first word to pop out of the hero's mouth, and it sounded an octave higher. It was almost comical, the way he went from menacing to boyish in five seconds flat.

"Sorry, it was the first thing that popped into my head. I was desperate," she confessed. "I can't believe I just froze up like that. It's so embarrassing. You better not tell anyone else," she threatened, hands fisted on hips and a glare on her face.

"Our little secret," he reassured her, and retrieved his drink from the bar. He picked up the one next to it as well, and she realized he had ordered her a drink anyway. Her thanks was silent as she accepted it, and took a tiny sip. Citrus flavored.

"I'm so spoiled by all of the fruit here. Sea prunes are nothing compared to oranges," she joked, but it was the truth. However, it wasn't for the food that she returned to her homeland. It was her people.

"The only thing that compares to sea prunes are ocean kumquats," Zuko grimaced, remembering the one and only time he dared to try stewed sea prunes. The taste had lingered for weeks.

A silence settled between the pair as Katara sipped at her drink and tried to determine what sort of fruits were in it. Zuko leaned his back against the counter top too, and swirled the Dragon's Breath in the glass. He appeared to be deep in thought, and the waterbender couldn't even hazard a guess as to what he was thinking.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked suddenly, turning his body so quickly Katara thought his alcohol would surely be spilt. Apparently it wasn't, since he downed the contents and looked expectantly at her.

"Sure," she shrugged. Her drink was mostly ice cubes any way. When she pushed herself into a completely upright position, the world felt a little wobbly. Must have been more alcohol to that drink than she thought.

"Woah," Zuko warned, steadying her against his shoulder. He grabbed the empty glass from her hand before she had the chance to drop it. "You okay there?"

"Just wasn't expecting it," she muttered. "I'm fine." To prove her point, the waterbending master righted herself without his help and gave him a pointed look.

Her stomach was starting to feel warm and, for lack of a better word, fuzzy. It was spreading to her finger tips slowly, and despite the already hot climate, she didn't mind. Zuko still didn't look very convinced, so she grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him in her wake into the crowd.

The bass was giving the floor a steady hum, and it was so loud words were not possible. When the Fire Lord pulled her close, though, she got the message: stay close. It was kind of hard not to, now that they were in the midst of the wriggling mass of people. The heat from their bodies added to that of the alcohol, and the Sensible Katara would have been grossed out by those other foreign, sweaty bodies even brushing against her. Something about being apart of a conglomerate made it okay to Compromised Katara.

Still unsure how to start, even with the alcohol telling her to discard all inhibitions for the remainder of the night, she glanced over her shoulder at Zuko. He looked just as out of place as she did, swaying awkwardly with the beat.

A tight pivot put them face to face, and she was about to point out a more modestly dancing pair when an attack came from behind. But while Katara was panicking as the arms wrapped around her, Zuko was giving the stranger a nod in greeting. Katara turned as her would-be assailant released their grip, and she was incredibly surprised to find Ty Lee's beaming face.

The Water Tribe woman blinked in surprise. It was the first time in three years since they had seen each other, but she didn't look remarkably different. From what she knew about Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee must be taking some time off to visit her family in the Fire Nation.

_But what is she doing here?_ She thought, giving the woman in pink a weak smile. They were never the best of friends, but it wasn't like they were enemies now. Besides, it was hard to dislike her bubbly, upbeat personality.

Ty Lee frowned like she was thinking about something peculiar, and deciphered the problem quickly. Anyone, even Toph, could see that those two were newcomers to the more modern form of dancing. Delighted to take on the role of instructor, her face lit up once again and made tiny steps, side to side, and motioned for the other two to mimic her.

Katara was still lacking in the confidence department, but she tried her best. At least they wouldn't be floundering on the dance floor. Ty Lee rewarded them with and enthusiastic nod, and loosened her movements. Now she blended in with the other dancers, and the waterbender was giving it her best effort.

The hips moved subtly, the shoulders rolled unconsciously. She tried to clear her mind as she did in her bending, and it seemed to be working. In her concentration she nearly forgot about Zuko until she felt his chest press into her back. Their sudden closeness was attributed to the fact that the place was crowded. The truth of the matter was that the Fire Lord was beginning to feel a familiar lump in his throat.

_I never knew she could move that way...must be the bending,_ he thought vacantly. His vision was beginning to double, but it was to be expected with those extra shots he had done in his absence from Katara. Primal instinct was taking more than its fair share of control, and it told him he needed to be close to that woman. Logic said not too close, because Katara probably wouldn't like that.

Katara herself was beginning to get the hang of the dancing and hip movements, and quite enjoying herself, when a chain of laughing drunk people separated her from Ty Lee. It was only momentary, since they were passing further into the crowd, but it was enough to alert Zuko's reflexes, and pull her flush against him to protect her. She was slow to react, but gasped all the same.

When the rowdy partiers had passed, he didn't remove his arms from around her waist. Instead, he pressed his lips to the back of her head, right next to her meticulous topknot. It wasn't _really_ a kiss, but the effect was the same. She would have gone rigid, but the alcohol in her system kept her limp.

_He must be feeling his liquor, that's all,_ Katara tried to reassure herself. She could not help but be touched by the intimacy of the moment, being held with such affection in the midst of a loud chaos. The innocence ended when his hands slid down to rest on her hips. They jerked involuntarily, but his hands were so light it almost tickled.

Ty Lee, seeing that the dance lesson was over and herself quite forgotten, slipped effortlessly back into the crowd with a smile. She was unsure, though. What was Katara doing here with Zuko? Was she going through a rough patch with Aang? The chi blocker shook herself mentally. This was no place to let your guard down and think so inwardly. Besides, that was their business.

Katara couldn't help but giggle as his fingers fluttered over the skin of her stomach. It tickled so much! Zuko felt her body shake and he paused, wondering if something was wrong. She turned around to face him, though, and was all smiles.

"It tickled," she mouthed, and felt her point needed a demonstration. His body jerked in surprise, and when her meaning was clear to him he laughed. It was strange, because the woman could not recollect if she had ever seen the Fire Lord in such a state of amusement. Blame it on the alcohol.

The rhythm of the music altered slightly, the bass hitting in different places, but Katara was unsure if it was an entirely different song. If you could call the amalgamation of beats a song, that is. Their bodies pulsed to the beat, whenever it commanded them. She didn't know how much time had passed when she looked at her companion.

Zuko sure seemed to be having a good time, a foolish grin trying to steal over his face as he was trying to dance like Ty Lee had shown them. He was beginning to do more drunken swaying than dancing, and Katara had to steady him. Otherwise he might have fallen down and probably be trampled.

_Yeah, that would be just my luck. A whole nation thrown into chaos because I couldn't keep their leader from being trampled to death on the dance floor._

He waved her off and gained his footing. Upon a moment of consideration, he pulled her close. The firebender didn't want her for support, though.

He wanted to hold her.

Zuko's eyes closed as he embraced her, and he simply enjoyed the moment. A hazy thought drifted through his mind, claiming that this was the only thing he could ever want in life. To hold her, touch her, feel her heartbeat resound through his own chest through sheer contact alone.

Katara hesitantly returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. The gesture stirred a long forgotten memory of her mission to avenge her mother's death. She had forgiven Zuko, but the hug she had given him then wasn't quite like this.

_How would things be different if I hadn't forgiven him?_

She pursued this point of thought with a fogged mind, and meanwhile the pair had started to rock gently from side to side. Katara let her eyes flutter closed, the world around them forgotten for the moment.

Zuko had been a pillar of strength in accepting the world without Aang in her future, careful to nudge her in the right direction if she started to backslide. He was not unlike the rest of the gang, who had done their fair share, but he was certainly the more subtle one. For him and his attentions, she was grateful. But could she ever love him, or be his wife? The thought was immediately rejected, as always, but there was doubt more recently intermingled with it. How did she really feel about him?

She was brought out of her reverie by Zuko's incoherent mumbling. Not that she would have heard what he was trying to say, but she judged him to be losing his stamina by how he began to lean increasingly on her.

Katara sighed, her maternal instinct kicking in as she patted his back sympathetically. She wiggled out of his hold and deciding that he couldn't walk out properly, it would be best to support him on their walk back to the palace. Sidling up to him, she slung one of his arms over her shoulder, and her right gripped his waist firmly. Zuko was still babbling about Tui knew what, but it was high time they returned.

Determination and a deep breath got Katara and her ward through the mass of people with little incident, though there was that one guy who groped her bottom on the way out. Creep.

Her head seemed to clear up, now that they were out in the night. The streets were comparatively empty from the time they entered, and judging by the moon it had been at least half of the night. While she had stopped, Zuko was trying to regain control over himself. It seemed that the fresh air was working its wonders on him too, because he stood more steadily on his own when Katara cautiously withdrew her arm.

"Can't have you going around with your hood down. You never know who's lurking about," she muttered, and tugged the Fire Lord's hood onto his head. She was met with resistance, with him claiming no one could see anything in the dark. Katara was steadfast in her resolution, and held the fabric on his head until his opposition fizzled out.

"Katarrra, I have a queshtion for yooou," he slurred. Oh yes, definitely still very drunk. She waited patiently as he assumed the most serious air while in a drunken stupor. "If yoou were a pirattte, would yoou wear yourr iguana-parrot on this shoulderrr," he patted her right shoulder, which was closest to him. "oooor this shoulderrr?" Zuko put his hand on her other shoulder and grinned stupidly.

_He must have heard that pick up line from Sokka,_ she thought with a chuckle. He must have thought it was funny too, because he joined in her merriment and ended with leaning on her again.

"Come on, let's get you home," she laughed, making sure his hood was secure before heading in the general direction of the palace. Katara had no idea as to what the best route would be, but the huge structure was hard to miss. They'd make it eventually.

When Zuko had bursts of energy, he would try to break free and run ahead. His motives were questionable and probably crazy, but it looked like he was going to become more of a hassle than she had first anticipated. At least he wasn't throwing up.

Yet.

"I need a break. Trying to hang on to you is like trying to mend a net with broken fingers: nearly impossible." Katara had no idea where they were, and the buildings were getting taller as they neared the palace so it was hard to get a clear view of it. After running into three dead ends and backtracking at least five times, she was wearing thin.

Thankfully Zuko decided to cooperate, and he plopped down next to his guardian for the present. They were leaning against the smooth wall of some building, probably a merchant's house, and the moonlight washed over them. In hindsight, Katara recalled that sitting in the shadows would have kept them out of trouble.

"That drink, why's it called Dragon's Breath?" She asked after sitting in silence for a few moments. He gave a short, barking laugh.

"I'll show you," he smirked before taking a deep breath. He tilted his head back almost lazily and exhaled a considerably large flame, larger than she had ever seen. It lit up the street they were on so much so that she could hear people cursing the sudden brightness. She made a mental note to inquire further tomorrow, because he was in a fit of silent laughter at the moment.

_Zuko laughing is so strange, even if he is drunk._

The way his lips curled was pleasant to witness, and it was with regret that she remembered he never looked so amused. His laughter subsided when he noticed her observing him, but the faintest smile was still on his face as he returned her gaze.

"I don't thhink I've ever sheen anything more beautiful than yoou," he admitted, unconsciously leaning in while thoughts flew through Katara's mind so fast that her brain could barely keep up.

_Tui and La, he's going to kiss me! What should I do? It's not like he'll remember, but isn't that taking advantage of him? Is it taking advantage if he starts it? Why am I even considering this! Zuko is...! Is...? _

What was he?

_What if he throws up in my mouth?! _

Too much time had been spent thinking, and while waiting to be thrown up on with eyes squeezed shut, she was startled by a soft brush of his lips on her cheek. She blinked in surprised as he blinked heavily back at her.

"Getting tiredd," he mumbled, considering laying his head in her lap before she sprung to her feet.

"Ah, no, we've got to get back, and then you can sleep," she replied, a furious blush creeping over her face. Such an innocent kiss on the cheek embarrassed her more than the one she had been expecting, but why? To be determined at a later date, because Zuko needed her assistance more than anything right now.

A forceful determination got Katara through the next hour of their trek, and at the end she was standing in front of Zuko's door. Somehow she managed to slide it open while still supporting him, and she sat him down at the edge of his bed.

His clothes were relaxed enough to sleep in, not that she would've been stripping him down anyway, but his boots would have to go. They slipped off with little difficulty, much to her surprise, but the Fire Nation was full of surprises it would seem.

She tucked him under the silken sheets and was relieved that her duty was finally fulfilled and started to escape to her own quarters when he called out to her. With the patience of a mother, Katara returned to him and raised her brow questioningly.

"Don't go yet, hate to fall ashleep so defenseless...assassins...useless guards..." She deadpanned, but gave in when he took her hand in such a supplicatory manner. Plus, he had a point.

"Just appoint me to be your body guard and get it over with," she muttered as he rolled over clumsily to make room for her. Might as well, since she made sure he hadn't been trampled or assassinated or kidnapped that night.

"Yoou can doo anything you wantt tto my body, buttt guarding ish goood," he yawned. Apparently deep down, he was feisty concerning comebacks. No wonder he and Sokka got along so well.

She did not reply, but it didn't look like he expected one. He lay on his side, facing her with already drooping eyelids. Considering him as good as asleep, Katara released her topknot and massaged her scalp. She was pretty sure the fancy shoes had given her blisters, and closer examination of newly bared feet confirmed her suspicions. Leaning her back against the headboard, she let her thoughts wander.

How long before would it be proper to leave? Staying was absolutely out of the question. Maybe an hour, to make sure he was really asleep. She could stay awake one more hour, right? Plus, it would give her the much needed time to sort out her feelings definitively. Katara made a mental list, starting with the things she was certain of.

She liked Zuko's kisses.

She thought him attractive.

He wanted something more than friendship, but there was no rush.

He said that he liked her, _really really_ liked her.

He was jealous of her attentions to Lee.

She cringed at the thought of Lee. There was no way she could keep leading him on, if what her list said was true: dating Zuko wouldn't really be too bad. As if he could read her mind, he shifted in his sleep. She considered his face for a moment, watching him sleep. Every now and then his brow would crease and his lip curled, and she wondered what he was dreaming about. No, back to list making. This time, it was of what she thought uncertain.

Marriage?

What would her father say?

How would their friends take it?

What about her duty to her people?

Could she ever be in love with him?

Her own thought caught her off guard. Love? Who said anything about love? No, she couldn't begin to fathom an answer to that question now. Maybe later. But her people, they needed her. As an ambassador, a teacher, a symbol of hope. She would not, _could not_, abandon them. It would be selfish to even consider leaving.

A glance at Zuko showed that he was still fast asleep, but he looked more troubled. His fists were clenched in the sheets, and a light sweat was making his hair stick to his forehead.

_It must be a really bad dream,_ she thought with concern. It was a bad idea to wake sleeping people, especially if they're in the middle of a nightmare. The fact that he could burn her to a crisp made the idea even more unpleasant. But could she really just sit there with her (friend? object of infatuation?) suffering through mental torture?

While Katara tried to think of a way to be of some comfort, he gave her the opening she needed. He was searching for something with his hand outstretched, groping along the folds of sheets towards her. She slipped her hand into his grasp, and was prepared for the vice-like grip that greeted her. The thing she was not prepared for, however, was when he yanked his prey to his chest.

Stifling her exclamation, the waterbender barely avoided knocking heads with Zuko by dumb luck. Panic overtook her at first, and she froze. How was she supposed to get out of here now? She had only just acknowledged her feelings, this was moving too fast!

Soon enough, though, excuses were made as she accepted her fate for the night. It wasn't like she had told him how she felt, so really they were still just friends. How many times had they all camped out together, even after the war?

_He won't try anything, and I'm so tired..._

Lack of energy won out at last, and Katara wriggled down under the sheets, bringing her face parallel with Zuko's. He was breathing easier now, and even looked peaceful with his mouth slightly agape. He looked so...vulnerable.

"I won't let anything hurt you," she whispered with a tired smile, and let her eyes close for the night.

* * *

The first thing Fire Lord Zuko was aware of next morning was the rising sun, naturally. The second was his pounding head and dry mouth. The third and most surprising was a woman in his bed. Not just any woman, the woman who claimed his deepest affections.

_Katara._

He was holding her hand, for reasons that escaped him, and his initial thought was panicked.

_Oh Agni, we've done the deed and I was drunk out of my mind. I've dishonored her immeasurably..._

Upon further notice, they were both still fully clothed from the night before. With that bolt of lightning dodged, he was at leisure to appreciate the woman before him before greeting the day. Her features were soft in her untroubled sleep, and the dawn filtering in from the windows lit up her hair radiantly.

He recalled the last time seeing her like this, when she fell asleep on his lap on her bed. She had probably forgotten he had even been there by the next morning, but last night she had stayed in his bed. Why? Perhaps it wouldn't be terribly awkward if he asked later, with any luck. For now, he had to leave her.

Trying to make as little disturbance as possible, he escaped the bed and deemed his loose pants acceptable to practice his forms in. He smirked as he strode down the hallway, imagining how her face would look when she woke up and remembered last night. He was almost sorry he had to miss it. Almost. If she was still asleep when he returned, hopefully Suki could be convinced to rouse her.

_Yes,_ he thought while stretching in the courtyard. _Today will be very interesting._

* * *

**A/N: Tadaaa! I know, you were expecting something more magnificent, right? Believe me, I intended for a lot more romance-y situations myself, but this stuff writes itself, y'know. But, I'd go with sweet rather than sexy for (most) fics. ;]**

**I hope you enjoyed it, please don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts. Up next, a game of hide and seek! **


	13. Hide and Seek

**A/N: Thank you all for your patience! About half way through writing this chapter, I had a life changing turn of events (for the worse) but I promise to keep this story going! It's a bit shorter than I intended, but I feel bad for making you wait any longer! Let me know what you think. **

Katara was in a place she did not know.

It was a beautiful place, a field full of golden grasses that played around her knees and the wind teased at her hair. The air was so crisp and clean like in the South Pole, she treasured every breath as if it were her last. There were mountains in the distance, their snowcapped peaks appeared tiny at her distance. It was a wondrous place, but how did she get here? Where was she before?

_It didn't matter_, she reasoned, _if the place is this perfect_.

She closed her eyes and basked in the glow of a warm sun, and suddenly felt the unwanted shaking of her shoulder. Her eyes didn't open, but now her assailant was calling her name. Why didn't they just come to her...?

"Katara, wake up!"

Her eyes flew open, wide as saucers at the less than pleasant awakening. She glared up at Suki accusingly, not at all satisfied that such a great dream had to be left behind.

"You can glare all you want, but Sokka's going to be the one glaring if he finds out you spent the night with our precious little Fire Lord," the older woman smirked. Katara sat up abruptly, causing Suki to retreat to the foot of the bed. Katara's eyes darted around the room and sure enough, this was not her room. The residual throb from last night's drink made her grimace.

"It was a shame to wake you, since you looked so _satisfied_," Suki continued, assuming entirely too much. "It's nearly noon. Your lover boy has been up since dawn, and you continue to make him wait?" Oh yes, Suki was going to milk this for all it was worth.

"What? N-no! It's not - we're not - no!" She shook her head furiously, trying to hide her blush. "Nothing happened between us! We got in late, and I fell asleep here. That's all," she insisted, seeing the other didn't believe her. Katara scrambled out of the bed, trying to recall what had exactly led to their sleepover, but Suki didn't give her any time to reflect.

"C'mon, Sokka's going to be up soon. I don't think I have to reiterate my point."

"Okay, okay, I'm working on it," Katara grumbled, wincing at her newly acknowledged headache. "I need to get back to my room and change, or something," she continued, stretching as they slid the door shut behind them and started down the hall. "I hate to sound like Sokka, but I'm starving!" Both women laughed as they turned down the next hallway, and Katara began relating all the details of yesterday.

Suki was a grand audience, making appropriate responses when needed and otherwise listening attentively. The details of the day were clear in her mind as the storyteller relived them, but there was consideration to be made of the night.

"Well, I remember seeing Ty Lee. She taught us how to dance," she said thoughtfully. "And then...there was some dancing." Here she squinted, as if trying to see the memory more clearly in her mind's eye. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to speak of those moments he held her. "Heh, he was pretty drunk. I remember on the way back he...he kissed me on the cheek." Her hand unconsciously touched said cheek, and even at the memory she blushed.

"Sounds like you had a good time," her friend grinned. She wholeheartedly supported this fragile, blossoming relationship between her two friends. Katara deserved happiness in her life, and after Aang she needed it.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Katara grinned. "When I had him all tucked into his bed, he asked me to stay," she blushed. "But I didn't mean to stay the whole night! H-He was having a bad dream, he grabbed my hand and - and I couldn't just leave." Try as she might to defend herself, there was still that conclusion she had come to last night. "Suki, I had some time to think last night, about him and I, and I - "

Before she could finish her confession, the pair rounded the next corner and ran smack into an unfortunate person who was coincidentally coming from the other way. Katara immediately started a string of apologies, but her throat closed up when she saw that it was _Zuko_ they had run into. She froze, confused by the fond feelings she was about to bare to Suki and now he was in front of her. For some reason, she thought it was as good as confessing those feelings directly to him, and it terrified her.

Zuko himself couldn't be more surprised, his brow raised but his face remained otherwise blank, minus the faint blush. It wasn't how he expected their first encounter, and neither of them were prepared to speak of yesterday on such short notice. Suki was a witness to the overwhelming tension. She thought it most proper to look away, but couldn't help herself. Oh, if only she had some fire flakes to enjoy the scene!

After a moment of awkward silence, Zuko was about to say something, _anything_, but as soon as he opened his mouth Katara was darting down the hallway. He looked after her, crestfallen, and turned to Suki in supplication.

"What should I do? Go after her?" He shot another desperate glance down the hallway. Why was he so bad at knowing what women wanted?

"Relax Lover Boy, you'll see her at lunch," Suki grinned widely, and left Zuko with a pat on his shoulder.

Suki entered Katara's room sometime later to find the occupant on the bed with her face buried in the pillow. Upon being questioned, Katara revealed that no, she wan't crying, but she was absolutely sure she'd die from embarrassment.

"I-I have feelings for him, Suki," she blurted out before resuming her face-pillow contact. Why was it so hard to admit such a tiny thing? It wasn't like this was her first crush or anything.

"Of course you do," her friend agreed cheerfully, sitting on the edge of the bed and giving her back a soothing pat. "It's not a bad thing. Zuko's a really great guy."

"You think so?" Katara rolled onto her side, abandoning the pillow entirely for Suki's honest opinion.

"Yeah, so don't worry. I think you guys are cute together," she beamed. "Now, let's get some lunch!"

Katara protested that she wouldn't leave the room, even though she was so hungry, and she would wait to sneak to the kitchen later. Or, even better, Suki could grab them something to eat. Suki was adamant about her position, since she had practically promised Zuko, and Katara was just as stubborn. Their volley of offers and negotiations was reaching a stalemate when there was a knock at the door. The women traded surprised glances before the waterbender called for their mystery guest to come in.

"I brought you some lunch." Zuko poked his head into the room with a look on his face that could be interpreted as 'please don't hate me.' When he wasn't refused, he entered with a tray full of warm food and pleasant scents.

"That reminds me, I'm still hungry. See you guys later," Suki said casually, shutting the door behind Zuko when he stepped into the room.

For a moment he simply stood with his offering, but Katara's rumbling stomach gave him the encouragement he needed to proceed to her bedside. It would feel more natural to sit by her side, where Suki had been, but her state was still unknown to him and he opted for the foot of the bed. She sat up, and he examined the tray of food while he spoke.

"I didn't know if you were eating with us or not, and your brother was scarfing up food like he hadn't eaten in a month so..." Zuko gave an awkward shrug. "I apologize for anything dishonorable I did, er, last night." He bowed his head in embarrassment. Hopefully, this would make her explain why they had woken up together.

"Oh, no, you didn't do anything," Katara replied, flapping her hand as if to shoo the ridiculous idea away. "When I got you to your room, you just asked me to stay because you didn't trust the guards. A-And later you looked like you were having a bad dream so I, er, tried to help by holding your hand...You pulled me in so suddenly, a-and your grip was so tight - ! I couldn't escape," she finished lamely, her eyes intent on the bed sheet under her feet.

_She stayed with me..._

Zuko was touched by the loyalty of her friendship, even if he had made the request in a drunken stupor. And his dream! He hoped that he hadn't screamed - hadn't cried. Agni, those were the worst.

"Thank you," he replied after a pause.

"It's nothing really. Your bed is _much_ more comfortable than mine," she sighed wistfully. "As the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador, I demand that the bed should be mine."

"That bed has been in the Fire Lord's chambers for decades. Why should I give it up to you?" He asked casually, recalling a similar conversation they'd had two days ago. "You have to come to the bed."

"I can't make you sleep on the floor..." Apparently, Katara remembered that conversation too. She frowned, caught in a conflict of self-interest and the interest of another.

"Think on that while you eat. The food is getting cold."

"Can't you just heat it up with your firebending?"

"What am I, your personal oven?"

Katara laughed, and she was relieved the tension had left them. It was with delight that she accepted her chopsticks and the tray, starting in on the komodo-chicken and rice first.

"Wait, why aren't you ridiculously hungover?" She squinted suspiciously at the firebender, pointing her chopsticks rudely at his chest in her indignation.

"I can raise my temperature to burn off the alcohol in my bloodstream. Just a little something Uncle taught me," he smirked. Oh, the perks of being a firebender. They numbered few, but they were damn good. Katara only frowned at the unfairness of life, and returned her focus to her food. The silence wasn't so bad, but something was beginning to weigh on Zuko's mind.

"Tonight is the last night of the masquerade," he commented with his eyes focused on the ceiling. This caught her off guard, and her vigorous chewing slowed. Not only that, but it was the "deadline" for her decision concerning their relationship. Swallowing her food ended her excuse for lack of communication.

"Yup," she nodded, hurriedly stuffing more food into her mouth before he could ask any questions.

"I hope at least some have benefitted from it." Katara shrugged her shoulders in a noncommittal manner, still in the business of chewing. A gap in the conversation lasted a few more bites before she decided it was time to face the issue like an adult.

"Should we dance together the whole night?" Her voice was soft, and she heard the quiver of uncertainty. She met his gaze, but he shook his head.

"No, before you make any choices, I want you to have no regrets."

To any innocent eavesdropper the conversation would seem confusing and riddled with holes. They knew, though, and that was enough. He encouraged her to dance the night away with Lee...because he was confident? Because he was kind? Because he cared about her? To Katara, it could have been any one of those reasons.

"At midnight, everyone will take off their masks. If you've come to a decision by then, I ask that you find me and tell me," he continued.

_What if she still refuses me?_

"I think I can do that," she nodded with determination. How could Lee possibly ever sway these budding affections for Zuko? But the young man deserved one last night to dance with his long absent partner. _It's the least I can do._

He swallowed nervously. "Good."

Katara was afraid of the impending awkward silence but Toph, the very antonym of silence, flung the door aside with her usual gusto. She was all devious grins, and the two couldn't help but jump at her sudden appearance.

"Alright love birds, time for hide and seek!"

"Sounds good," the waterbender replied in relief, and it was already too late to correct herself, but she tired anyway. "Ah - wait - we're not - "

"Save it for Sokka, Sugar Queen," Toph interrupted, her grin deepening. Of course the blind girl couldn't see their blushes, but she could feel their heart rates! "Now get a move on, Sokka's been waiting to be the seeker since yesterday."

"Right, well, just let me change into something fresh and I'll be with you guys in a moment." What with all of the emotional commotion, Katara had neglected to change her clothes from last night, or even run a brush through her hair. While she was freshening up, Toph gave Zuko the third degree as they went to join the others.

"Were did you two go last night? And don't even try to deny you weren't at the dance, 'cause I didn't feel you guys at all. Spill it, Sparky!"

"We were kind of on a...date..." Zuko muttered. It was best to give her the information she wanted, because anything less would mean more trouble for him later. Besides, it was kind of nice to confide his feelings in someone who wasn't his uncle. Although, having Toph as a confidant wasn't the smartest of choices.

"Date, huh? Wait until Sokka gets a load of that!" She grinned wickedly.

"We're bros. He would be okay with it," he reasoned, but that didn't stop him from worrying. The blind girl said nothing, but her grin didn't fade even when they joined Sokka and Suki in an open-aired hallway, lined with large red columns.

"Where's Katara?" Sokka frowned, shooting his eyes from Toph to Zuko. "I thought she was playing with us?"

"She'll be along. Had to brush her hair or something," Toph gestured as if she never concerned herself with such things if she didn't have to. She probably didn't. Sokka rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh, muttering something about how they'd all have to wait an eternity for her to join them.

"So how did last night go?" The warrior asked after coming out of his grump, brows raised in polite curiosity at the Fire Lord.

"What?" Zuko felt his voice strain to keep his regular octave. A slight panic surged through him, but Sokka wasn't acting like they were talking about Katara. "Oh, the dancing. Yeah, it was, uh, good."

"How's your special lady friend?" Sokka waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and Suki laughed behind her hand. Zuko tried not to even hint at a smile, because seriously, if he knew that he was talking about Katara, he would **not** be doing that ridiculous thing.

"She's fine. I think I could convince her to go steady with me, at the very least." Sokka gave an approving smile with a thumbs up, but Suki quirked her brow in amusement. Toph looked like she was about to say something that would put Zuko in an awkward position, but thankfully Katara made her appearance.

"I'm here," she panted, throwing the door aside and stepping onto the pale stone walkway. She had jogged from her room lest she keep them waiting any longer. While Sokka was busy punching the air in his excitement, he missed the shy eye contact between his baby sister and the Fire Lord. Katara looked away first with a blush, leaving Zuko to investigate his pointy shoes.

"With everyone making eyes around here, I'm feeling left out," Toph grinned. "Maybe I should be the seeker." Sokka completely missed the first part of her statement, whether by sheer ignorance or eagerness to be the seeker, it was unknown.

"Absolutely not! You'd find us too quickly and that's no fun," Sokka protested adamantly. "Besides, using your bending is cheating!"

"It's not cheating if that's the only way I can see," she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"C'mon Toph, let him have his fun," Katara joined in, the beginnings of a grin tugging at her lips. The earthbender snorted, but otherwise made no comment. Not that she had been serious about being the seeker, but it was always fun to get a rise out of anyone.

"I'm counting to one hundred, that should give you plenty of time to find a good spot," Sokka announced confidently.

"Oh, you can count that high?" Toph smirked, causing the young man to splutter as if he were fifteen again. Suki grinned, but her words were soothing to his ego as she rubbed circles on his back. Katara didn't bother to stifle her laughter while Zuko had to bite his lip to keep himself stoic.

"I'll make sure to find you first," he grumbled, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands and turning away from the group. "Go hide, why don't'cha."

Suki took off quickly, disappearing behind the door opposite the one they had come through with a sly backward glance. Toph predictably took off to the nearby garden, quickly lost to Katara's eye in the large shrubberies.

"I don't exactly know my way around the palace," she muttered to Zuko, careful to keep her voice under the volume of Sokka's counting. She shifted towards another door positioned in between the other two with uncertainty, and Zuko only shrugged.

"I'll make sure you don't get lost," he offered lowly, a quick look at Sokka to make sure he wasn't peeking. The younger man was walking in circles with his hands still firmly placed on his eyes when the two slipped into the palace.

If Katara had ever been in this part before, she wouldn't know. With the obscene amount of red in the place, one hallway looked the same as the next. She could feel Zuko's eyes on the back of her head, and feeling only slightly uncomfortable, she headed left down the hall. Silence reigned supreme, only broken by their soft footfalls against the long rug.

_This was a bad idea. This was _such_ a bad idea,_ Katara thought as she took a right, her feet quickening with her thoughts. _After last night, how could I think this even resembled a good idea?_ Even though they had talked most of the awkwardness away, there was still the lingering taste.

Suddenly remembering they were in the middle of hide and seek, and that Sokka was probably finished with counting, she threw open the nearest door in a frantic rush. Before Zuko could protest, he was being shoved into the room he had least wanted to visit. She slid the ornate door shut, plunging the pair into darkness.

"How about some light? Sokka will be looking by now. He _always_ skips numbers." Katara was surprised she even had to ask, and that there was such a hesitation even when she did. The firebender silently complied, but his flame was small and didn't give off enough light to see far.

Something was obviously wrong. It was all over his face if you only knew where to look. The subtle furrow of his brow, the twist of his lips. Maybe he felt just as weird about being together as she did, because this place looked innocent enough.

"C'mon, there must be somewhere we can hide," she urged, squinting ahead into the darkness. "I think I see something we can hide behind."

"Katara, I don't - "

"Do you want him to find us first?" She frowned over her shoulder, having already forged ahead in the darkness.

"No, but - "

Zuko was left standing alone, talking to the last glimpse he had of Katara's back. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, his face contorted in a grimace. She could've picked any blasted room in the palace, but naturally it would be this one.

"I found something!" The waterbender called out in the darkness, her hands assaulting something rather unyielding before her. As Zuko drew nearer, his flame preceding him, Katara furrowed her brow in thought. The structure was about the height of her chest, but what little else she saw indicated that it ran the length of the chamber.

"What _is_ this thing?" She wondered aloud, running her hands over the smooth wood in confusion. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her companion wasn't even looking at it. "Do you know what this is?"

Zuko's eyes looked hard in the light of his bending, and he met her gaze without flinching. He gulped, however, before he spoke with a dry voice. "The Agni Kai platform. We're in the royal Agni Kai chamber." He looked past her into the darkness, eyes unfocused as if he was reliving a memory. "This is where I got my scar."


	14. Intermission - Fix You

**A/N: This is a little intermission, because I'm always claiming how 'Zuko helped Katara sooo much' but it happened mostly in the two months before the masquerade. So, here is a little of that evidence! It's not a real chapter, but just a little bonus I guess? I think I'll add more to this later (since there's a bigger gap at the end). Also, Fix You by Coldplay really gets to the heart of this whole thing. Even if you've heard it before, I encourage you to listen to it again and really think about the lyrics. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Katara!"

_BANG BANG BANG!_

"Katara, you can't stay in there forever!"

Sokka hoped that would elicit some response but was sorely disappointed. He hadn't even heard a peep from his baby sister the whole time, and he's been there for a few hours.

_Maybe she isn't even there? Or maybe..._A sudden shock went through the warrior, and he pulled at the door with renewed vigor.

"Just let me know you're alive!" He pleaded, hoping and praying she was. Even though he didn't think Katara would take her own life, it didn't hurt to make sure he'd barge in on her dead body.

Falling silent, he listened with anticipation for anything. Then, to his greatest relief, he heard a shuffling of bare feet on the other side. The door opened, and he immediately pulled her into a stifling sibling hug that she did not refuse. Her arms wrapped weakly around his chest, and that was all the reciprocation he got.

"I thought maybe you..."

There was a long silence before she answered, Sokka rubbing soothing motions on her back.

"Dad would be so disappointed. That's a coward's way out," she croaked, her voice cracking from disuse. "I'm not dead, so leave me alone." With this she pulled back, and her brother unwillingly let go.

"Come on Katara, everyone's worried about you. When was the last time you ate?" He frowned in concern, finally taking in her state. "When was the last time you did anything but lay in bed?"

Katara's hair was a knotted mess, dark circles colored the area under her eyes, and her skin was becoming pale. Her eyes were unfocused, even while she was looking at him. Rather, she was looking _through_ him, as if he didn't exist. Suppressing a shudder, he made to put his hand on her arm but she shrunk from his touch.

"Just leave me alone, Sokka." She stepped back into her room and was gone faster than he could comprehend. He tried the door, but it was sealed. But by what? _Must be her bending,_ he thought angrily.

"Don't make me get Zuko involved in this! I'll have him burn you out, if that's what it takes!" The silence was like his threat - hollow. He clenched his jaw in frustration, but he would wait until she came out. With that, he sat across the hall from her door, leaning back against the wall.

* * *

_Why does everyone come to me with their problems? Oh yeah, I'm the Fire Lord._

Zuko stood outside of Katara's door, unsure how exactly to start. It had been two weeks since Sokka last talked to her, and nothing much had changed. She was still holed up in her room, but according to the Head Cook, food was always missing by morning in the kitchens. At least she was eating, unless they had a major rat problem.

He had come at night, when she was presumedly most active. The only reason he was here was because Sokka was pestering about it. Personally, he thought that she would heal in time. The other young man was very persistent, though, and he won out in the end. With a sigh of defeat, he knocked at the door.

"Katara?" He waited patiently for a few moments before continuing. "Sokka is worried about you. We all are," he added, trying not to screw up whatever he was doing. All was silent for a few minutes more, but then the telltale noises of moment could be hear. The door slid open an inch, and she peeked out at him.

"I want to see it."

"See what?" Zuko asked, utterly baffled by her request. Maybe she was losing her mind, like Azula.

"The note. I want to see his note," she rasped, sliding the door open further. Her eyes were hungry, desperate for the last words from Aang.

"What-? Oh," he replied, suddenly exceedingly uncomfortable. This person in front of him didn't look like Katara, and certainly didn't act like her. Was it from the isolation, or from Aang? "It's in my office, if you want to follow me."

She blinked dumbly up at him, and when he took a few steps down the hall, she didn't follow. The Fire Lord's brow creased, but he held his patience. Gently he took her hand in his, as he sometimes did during his visits to Azula. Her hand clenched his in a death grip, and he took that as an encouraging sign. At least she hadn't retreated to her room.

He led her in silence for the most part, but there had been a moment where he felt talking could help her. That's what their little group did, right? Didn't they like to talk out their problems and share all their feelings? The thought made Zuko more than a bit uncomfortable, but it was for this woman who had saved his life once. It was the least he could do.

"I know it's hard to believe, but the pain will pass." She did not respond, so he tried again. "Mai...she was furious with me for keeping a personal secret. She just left and never came back." A twinge of remorse for those times, what he'd done in the past. "It made me a stronger person."

Zuko looked over his shoulder at his ward, but her head was bowed. She kept her tight grip consistent, and he wondered offhandedly if the circulation would ever return to it. He grit his teeth and focused on the path ahead. Why had Aang just cut her off like that? He was the Avatar, wasn't he supposed to talk out whatever problems they were having? Katara was a mess because of him, and Zuko hated it.

The pair came to a halt outside of his official office, and with a measured look at his companion, he opened the door. He commanded the fire from his fingertips into the lanterns, and approached his desk. A tiny drawer on the left was where he kept it, figuring she'd want to see it sooner or later. He hesitated before opening the drawer, though, and turned back to Katara for confirmation.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She made no move to answer him but to raise her head and stare at him. If he were a lesser man, he would've flinched under that gaze. Maybe the note would provide some closure.

Zuko would have refused her this demand if he knew what would happen. If he could have predicted the usually strong, vibrant woman he knew as Katara would fall apart in front of his eyes, he would have stopped it. But he couldn't, and there she was before him, grasping the scrap of parchment with both hands and her eyes running over his words. She would stop sometimes and reread a sentence, or start from the beginning. Maybe she was having trouble processing.

He averted his eyes, letting her mourn her relationship, because he couldn't stand the way she just stared at the last words. They rang clear in the Fire Lord's mind.

_We're both destined for different things. One day or another, we would have had to make that choice. Please let her know I still love her._

It was as if all the air had fled from Katara's lungs. She stared blankly at the last sentence, but none of it was registering. The pain was felt with renewed vigor, but there was no crying and screaming.

No air for either.

Her head tilted up slowly, away from the offending scrap of parchment, and her eyes bore into Zuko's with maddening..._something_. There was a look in her eyes that he couldn't place. Lost? Abandoned? Or maybe it was the horror of her loss that was sinking into her very being. The longer she stared up at him, the more he was beginning to feel like a father figure. Yes, that fit her eyes now: desperate expectation.

He cleared his throat. "There are few things that are worse than when you love someone and it goes to waste." Whether it was the right thing to say or not, it had her clutching at the front of his night robe with shaking hands, her forehead pressed against his chest.

"You've lost something that can't be replaced," he murmured, encircling her in a loose hug. Katara only pressed harder against him, her shoulders beginning to shake with silent sobs. "We're all here for you, Katara," he continued. "If you let us help, we can all fix you."

"I should've t-tried harder," she wailed. "I-I-I should've gone with h-him!"

"You did your best. Where would your people be without you? What if you would have gone with him, and never come back? Don't you know how much Sokka would miss you?"

_How much I would miss you?_

The thought of never seeing such a close friend again made his grip on her tighten unconsciously.

"They would manage," she whimpered. "I am not so important."

"Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, Ambassador of her people, the infamous Negotiator? That Katara? Because I'm almost positive she's very important in the grand scheme of things," he assured her, absently rubbing a soothing hand over her back. He thought that would, at the least, elicit a chuckle. Zuko should know by this point in his life, he was not very good at reading girls. Especially emotional ones.

"What do _you_ know about _me?"_ Katara was spitting mad, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what he had been going for. She struggled free from his arms and he let her go without resistance. Why bother keeping her near to him when she didn't want to be?

"I know you're a good person. You're going to play an important part in reuniting the world," he frowned. In all honesty, this is what Zuko believed to be true. How could it not be? She was a fantastic diplomat, when her temper was kept on a tight leash, and she held respect with her mastery of waterbending.

"That's not who I am!" Her fists were clenched in defiant fists, eyes flashing with frustration while tears slipped down her cheeks. "Being a war hero doesn't define me! All of my quirks, habits, things only he knows - "

Here she choked on a sob, the very thought of that playful monk she had promised her future to gave her heartache. Katara's face crumpled into a painful sadness, looking past Zuko at things he couldn't see. As suddenly as her episode had started, she was running out of his office. The parchment fluttered to the ground, but the Fire Lord had his eyes trained on the doorway she had disappeared through.

* * *

"Maybe we should send her back to the South," Suki suggested worriedly. Another week had passed since the incident between Katara and Zuko, and the situation didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Dad wouldn't know how to handle her in this state," Sokka countered, dismissing the idea altogether. Toph and Zuko were also members of this brainstorming party situated in the turtleduck garden, but so far it wasn't going well.

Toph thought a good ass-whooping was the best way to cure Katara's depression, Sokka was relying on a new herbal concoction that was proven to bring anyone out from the darkest depression, and Suki thought going home would help her heal quickest.

"Look, she'll decide when it's time for her to get over it. Just give her time," Zuko snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his back against a tree. Everyone was quiet after that, Toph weaving her fingers between tufts of grass and Suki watching the turtleducks. Sokka, so sure that his logic could fix anything, was deep in thought.

The opening of a door brought everyone out of their thoughts, and their shocking visitor was none other than their dear friend. Sokka made to get up, but Suki grabbed his arm, shaking her head. Zuko noted that Katara looked more well kept than last week, but still rather pale. Her hair was plaited in a simple fashion, and her clothes looked clean, but she looked more like a doll than a person with those glassy eyes.

Instead of making eye contact with the group of friends, she padded across the grass to the pond with bare feet. A soft sigh escaped her cracked lips as she dipped her toes into the water, sitting at the pond's edge. As she swirled the water around with her toes, Sokka jerked his head towards his sister and looking meaningfully at his fiancé, who looked at Zuko for his silent confirmation.

Katara didn't flinch when the warrior settled into the grass beside her, but she didn't acknowledge her either. The other three observed from a distance, and Zuko couldn't help but be hopeful.

* * *

"Hey, I - uh - brought you some flowers. To make your room look nice."

Girls liked flowers, right?

Nearly a month later, Katara was markedly improved. She was social, to an extent, but at least she joined the group of friends for meals now. Zuko had been giving a great effort into distracting her until it wouldn't hurt so much if she ever did think about _Aang._

She looked up at him from a scroll with a faint smile and grateful eyes, but she was a woman of few words nowadays. Not that Zuko minded, but it made carrying on a conversation difficult. Suki insisted that this type of one-sided conversation was important to Katara, so he kept up this daily ritual.

"During the war, Uncle told me something," he began, placing the orchids and lilies carefully into a tall vase. "He said to never give in to despair, because that is when we surrender to our lowest instincts." The arranging finished, he glanced at Katara.

She was more pensive than anything, which he took to be a good sign. As long as she wasn't bursting into tears or flinging things at his head, it was usually a good sign.

"I wish Uncle was here, because he would have some really wise stuff to say." Zuko ruffled his hair in frustration because honestly, advice was _not_ his forte. Would he ever be half the man his Uncle was? He sure hoped so.

Katara smiled up at him, something so true and genuine it was distracting, so he forced himself into more talking.

"So, how are you finding the royal archives?" He asked with a nod to the stack of scrolls at the end of her bed, and her smile turned a bit sheepish. A step closer put the young man within reading distance of the title, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

"The Painted Lady? That scroll must be ancient. And boring." He rifled through her hoard of scrolls, which was composed mainly of Fire Nation lore, and found the one he was looking for. "Here, the Blue Spirit is infinitely more interesting," he smirked. Katara looked skeptical, but accepted the scroll nonetheless.

Their fingers brushed for just an instant, but it was like she had shot lightning into his veins. He fought the urge to jerk his hand back, because clearly she was unfazed by it, but he rubbed his fingers together to dispel the tingling sensation.

"Alright, well, I'll leave you to it. Maybe one day you can tell me what you think of the Blue Spirit." His voice was dry now, but it was a subtly Katara failed to pick up. She nodded without looking at him, intent on her new reading material.

When the door shut behind him, Zuko inspected his fingers carefully. No sign of anything unusual. It was all in his head, then. Giving himself a shake, he headed back to his office to tackle the never-ending stack of paperwork. At least he had the small victory of her smile today, and that was enough.

He would make her happy again.

He would fix her.


End file.
